


Show You The Stars

by Awkwarddragons



Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha Kim Junmyeon, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Background Relationships, Baker Oh Sehun, Bakery, Bisexual Kim Junmyeon, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, CEO, CEO Kim Junmyeon | Suho, EXO Ensemble - Freeform, Eventual mpreg, Fluff, M/M, Multi, NCT Ensemble - Freeform, OT21 (NCT), Omega Oh Sehun, Omega Verse, Romance, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, asexual oh sehun, background characters NCT, please give it a read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:35:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 42,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awkwarddragons/pseuds/Awkwarddragons
Summary: Oh Sehun is one a kind, literally and figuratively. Firstly, he's an omega which is less than twenty percent of the worldwide population. Furthermore he's asexual. Asexual as in statistics and numbers showing a whopping one percent of the worldwide population. In total he is a rarity beyond rare with his rare statistics probably tallying up to less than five percent.Then Kim Junmyeon enters his life in the most unexpected of ways. The man is a bisexual alpha who can barely walk a straight line without tripping over himself and still keep CEO position in the meantime.Maybe with a bit of luck and praying to Kim Xiumin, the author of his favorite adventure series, maybe he could have a chance to find friendship with Kim Junmyeon. If he's really lucky and not as cursed as he feels then maybe, just maybe, he could find something more than friendship along the way.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	1. The Prologue

  


> _"The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.”_  
>  \- Vincent Van Gogh


	2. Part i

In the world there are over four hundred types of berries, most of which are surprisingly edible. Of course though there are guidelines of what to eat and what to avoid. Some berries are common and some are uncommon while others are not touched at all by humans. Not to mention the possibilities of what to do with the berries are endless, every berry will have its own purpose or a "berry career”. In a fundamental way, berries are important and each one is unique in their own way. 

Sexualities are a lot like berries in a variety of ways. Firstly, there is no set number of sexualities out there and a lot of sexualities are further comprised by the way that people categorize themselves or how other people categorize that person. Better yet these sexualities can be interpreted in a multitude of ways making the number of known sexualities even more vastly different. Furthermore, some berries are favored more so than others while some are untouchable and a few rare types of berries can actually cause problems, including but not limited to poisoning. And finally there is a sexuality out there for everyone and every sexuality is unique to that person.

If Sehun had a choice, then he would be a boysenberry for sure. 

Boysenberries are well known in certain countries, grow in certain climates, and are liked only by a certain type of people. If boysenberries were a sexuality they would for sure be asexuality. The tangy and sweet taste of a boysenberry is enough to draw a certain type of crowd in without allowing them to overindulge and overstep the boundaries.

In other simpler terms, and based off that aforementioned logic, Sehun has decided that he is a boysenberry. Mostly because he has coined the boysenberry the chosen berry as a symbol of asexuality. Meaning that he is asexual to the core and absolutely adores how perfect the boysenberry is as a self determined symbol. However, a part of is based on the fact that he absolutely loves boysenberries and would kill someone for them.

And no, asexuality is not any type of poisonous berries or anything as the such. While there are untouchable berries, most of which are poisonous, they give off a more aromatic type of feeling. An untouchable and dangerous vibe of sorts. Something for thrill seekers or those who are also untouchable and dangerous. Familiarity in numbers.

Well sort of. It’s complicated like most sexualities, but that’s what makes them special and appealing.

It’s that mixed logic and the fact that Sehun actually happens to enjoy boysenberries that solidifies his claim. Not to mention that his family has successfully managed to grow and maintain a couple brambles of boysenberries alongside a wide variety of fruit. The boysenberries, though super tart, are amazing in some of his mom’s famous pies or even her out of this world jams and jellies.

Alongside his family’s odd patch of boysenberries, his family grows an odd variety of berries that range from strawberries to black berries. It made for good business in their small countryside town and yet the only real tough times were winter when the crops were out of season. They survive though by selling other homemade seasonal foods.

However, running a fruit farm brings in enough money for them to live a normal life and albeit having to make the decision to not go to college, it’s all fine for Sehun. He actually enjoys living this life and working on the family farm along with the small country store that they had in town. Well that and college was ruled out unnecessary after his two-year military service. At that point it merely seemed like a waste of money with his status as an omega. 

Surprisingly, the military service though was still a requirement for all boys regardless of their second gender and for Sehun who was an omega it was hell. There were points in which he felt vulnerable and unsafe surrounded by so many strong and scary betas and alphas. Nothing happened though and he made it out unscathed and finally became someone that his family could call a worthy son.

Alongside that the military was one of the first few instances and eye openers for his sexuality. No it was nothing new that Sehun found men attractive. Heck even some girls are down right stunning. However, it doesn’t mean he wants to jump their bones or go all x rated. Instead Sehun found himself staying away from the sexual aspects of a relationship and began to see the beauty and compassion in the romance half.

Like hell how about legit Netflix and chilling on a date rather than ditching the movie halfway through to do the deed on the couch. Like honestly that sounds more fun and more within his comfort zone. Then again this is just a him opinion and maybe he was just a broken omega. Or so he’s been told. 

It was then, when Sehun got back home from the military with questions bouncing in his head, that he began his wide spread internet search for answers. One of which told him simply that he was confused and needed to seek retribution or he shall face the wrath of god. Others told him to seek medical help or consult a professional. And then he finally found the term in a really old reddit forum thread that was locked and the comments were very late 2010s.

Asexuality.

Also known as a lack of sexual attraction.

Aka the answer to everything that Sehun has been feeling as of late. He fails to see the glitter and sparkles in the conception of sexual attraction and sexual love. Like no he does not want to go to home base with anyone and honestly isn’t even sure he’s comfortable enough to reach second base. This term is everything and honestly it makes him more comfortable in knowing that he isn’t broken.

No he’s just special.

Special like boysenberries.

Sehun smiles and stands from where he has been collecting blueberries for the past half hour, successfully stopping his thoughts in their tracks. He sighs out loud and stretches his sore body for a moment in an attempt to get the blood flowing back from crouching for so long. Before collecting the blueberries, he was tending to the field and collecting a heck load of strawberries. Honestly working outside and in the fields isn’t bad, but managing five acres of fruit is damn tiring that’s for sure.

After another moment of soaking up more of the late afternoon sun, Sehun gathers the full basket of blueberries and heads on back over to the tractor.

Overall the day was good and the harvest was really good. He had managed to collect a good amount of fruit for several pies, patbingsu bowls, or even some of the rare fruit tarts that he enjoyed making. The latter dessert was well received in their small town and all the aunties loved it. However, Sehun was rarely in the shop as of late due to his fathers small case of heat stroke. Regardless of what usage the fruit would have, Sehun picks up the basket of blueberries and begins the walk back to the tractor to go home. Once again he lets go of reality and lets his thoughts run wild to occupy the time.

With how flamboyant Sehun is about his sexuality he has to wonder sometimes if parents still didn’t know about his sexuality even though he was open to it a multitude of times. He’s dated a couple girls and guys in his life. Though he’s never allowed anyone to meet his parents since Sehun is seemingly prone to sort lived relationships. He had a good feeling that his sexuality had something to do with it since everyone who didn’t know him seemed to view him as the cliché omega with added height and sass. 

His parents were saints though and further putting them to shame by saying that their omega son was asexual would be as simple as phrasing he was “broken”. Permanently. Well that and they would probably end up as he laughing stock for their small village. Sehun would be lying if he said he honestly hasn’t imagined all the scenarios of how it would play if he was to come out. In all of the made up scenarios he could only come up with anger, sadness, and a lot of disappointment.

Sehun never wants to disappoint and honestly he has a strong need to fit in, to be needed. Maybe he’s just looking for something to tell him that he isn’t broken and is still needed. Even if it’s just one person who accepts him for who he is then that would be surely enough.

Alongside Sehun’s odd need to fit in, he has a love for his family that goes beyond normal city families. Or so he’s heard.

Sehun and his family are tight knit, they are at the highest point of being friends with one another that it brings the bond to a whole new level. They joke and laugh and can share any secret out there. Well aside from the overall personal secrets or any secret correlating to his sexuality. 

His family’s all that they have. There are no relatives or other extended family members, it’s just them three and has been for twenty-three years.

Combining those two aspects of what he deems is important is why he works for his family instead of one of those dance studios three towns over. Or better yet in the local daycare watching kids, since omegas are meant to watch the kids. Yet here he is working on his family’s berry farm and standing outside for half the week, before moving to a small shop indoors for the remaining half of the week.

Also known as a farmers job. This type of work can be suited for anyone but most of the time it’s either betas or omegas. Though honestly the omegas would probably be needed elsewhere to do mundane chores or look after any young ones.

It isn’t hard working in the fields or maintaining the shop. Though Sehun is still unsure if he hated the constant monotonous work or just hated the constant sun, being really pale does that to you. Either that or he hates how his thoughts tend to run wild when he is working on gathering fruits and tending to the garden.

On long days he would dream up a whole other world. Some days he’d be a pop singer loved around the world, others he would be a hero and successfully save his kingdom. However, at the end of the day he’s always back in his small town on his family’s orchard still collecting fruit.

The thoughts aren’t always good, but they aren’t necessarily bad. Sometimes they reminded him of what he had to get done. Other times he’s left wondering about his family’s reaction to him coming out. On really bad days, like the real rainy days, he wonders why his last girlfriend cheated on him and then left him after using him as a so called “sexuality experiment”.

Sehun leans back in the tractor, breathing in a bout of fresh air after securely placing three baskets of berries in the wagon and starting up the vehicle. He let his thoughts, the good, bad, and the alike, all leave him as he slowly began to head back to the house. Once back in the small greenhouse he has to wash the fruit and deem it okay to be sold, if so he packages them in the small biodegradable containers and sets them in their actual house to be further divided. After that his mother will take the berries and divide it to be sold in the market or if she feels that she has the time then she’ll keep a couple containers to be included in the stores multitude of baked goods.

“Sehun!”

The boy in question stops the tractor as he rolled up to the small greenhouse and spots his dad running towards him with a frantic look on his face. If the old man kept this up Sehun is sure that he would have another heart attack one day or worse just die from pure stress. That’s why he’s out in the fields more often compared to his father. Well that and his father was recovering from a bad bout of heat stroke. 

“What?” Sehun’s voice sounded tired rather than concerned and he hated how uncaring it sounded. Though he had a feeling his father would rule it as simple too much time out in the sun and for that he would be grateful.

“Please tell me we have some boysenberries or at least strawberries?”

“What?!” Sehun shouts, confused and wondering for a moment if his father was joking as he stepped off the tractor and began to haul the small baskets into the small greenhouse. He could hear his father frantically approaching him as if something was completely amiss and of course he just so happened to miss out on it because he was out in the fields.

All the important news is always spoken about when Sehun is out working and tending to the fields. Always.

“Berries! Do we have the berries?!”

Sehun stops and sets the basket he’s holding aside, before turning slowly to face his father who’s asking the worlds dumbest question ever and there was no backing to support his fathers sudden and frantic out cries for berries.

“You own a berry farm dad!” Sehun began to match his fathers frantically swaying hands as the frustration and confusion passed onto him. If someone was to look at them it would be very evident that they shared the same genes either that or crazy grew out in the orchards and spread damn quick.

“True. Very true. But I haven’t been out in the fields in a week since I’ve been helping out on promoting the business and starting off the orange season.” His father states, missing the obvious reason as to why he wasn’t out in the fields. “Plus, we heard from Ms. Lee down the street about a famous person possibility visiting and—”

Sehun puts a hand up and places the other on his face to try and rub away the confusion that was further caused by his fathers incessant babbling. The little rant from his old man was to fast for him to catch and comprehend completely.

“Slow down and start from the top.” Sehun states before heading back outside to gather the last bucket and put the tractor away. Honestly there is a lot less of collecting the fruit and more so just tending to the variety of berries and fruit trees in the orchard. Regardless he was tired and most likely sunburnt as his small sun hat did very little to cover the afternoon sun.

“We need berries to impress a famous person that has a fifty-two percent chance of coming here.” Sehun listens to his father speak before starting up the tractor and motioning for his father to follow while he drove it back to the shed.

“Isn’t Ms. Lee the one with that beta boy who works in a high rise company near Busan?” Sehun asks as he does his best to recall what little he knows about Ms. Lee and her small family. He’s trying his best to connect the dots and see why his father is panicking.

“Yep.” Sehun watches as his father nods before stopping the tractor and hoping off, together they close the shed and continue back to the greenhouse to properly distribute the berries.

“Then why the panic over a possible white collar visiting?” Sehun inquires while giving his father a dumbfounded and pure look of confusion. It isn’t like high paying tourists don’t visit during the warm season.

“Because!” His father shouts as he stops walking altogether. The panic from earlier is seemingly replaced with anger as Sehun kept investigating into his parent’s panic over this famous person. It was honestly unlike them and it felt like they were hiding something.

Sehun stops walking as well and opens his mouth to apologize. He wants to apologize for stepping out of line. The omega in him looking for forgiveness for such a small action.

In reality though, he also wants to ask why his father just went from happy dad to angry dad in a matter of moments. Well if he really thinks about it for a moment, then to be honest his father’s outburst sounded more like a frustrated outcry compared to anything else. 

“Because Sehun this could be your ticket out of here. You can go to bigger and better places. Plus we could get a good life if he recommends the shop. It’s a way for you to go out and explore the world. This is our dream. It doesn’t have to be yours.” His father spoke in that desperate tone, like he was seeking some reassurance that what he was saying was right. Instead though Sehun immediately grew tense, he was tired of people controlling his life and telling him what to do, be it directly or indirectly.

He was just Sehun. Not just another pliant omega who can be thrown around like a puppet.

“Dad, stop. Stop trying to control my life. I’m happy here.” Sehun didn’t even wait to gauge his dad’s reaction and instead he merely speed walked to the greenhouse where he had to go through the berries.

Honestly Sehun’s heard it a multitude of times and how many of the townsfolk pity him for not being able to go out into the world. However, he was really happy here surrounded by his family and not being pressured to do anything new or out of his comfort zone. Yes, times could be tough and sometimes tensions rose among his family, but being here was home.

It’s a safe place where Sehun can be himself and let his thoughts run wild. There’s no societal pressure or anything of the like. Just fresh air and fruit trees for miles.

Running a fruit farm is his parents dream and he understands that. However, he’s completely content if it happens to be his dream as well since he honestly has no dream.

Well maybe his dream could be to find an understanding partner and to live a sweet life somewhere in the countryside. Together they might grow a few brambles of their favorite berries and have a multitude of dogs as kids.

Maybe that was his dream or maybe it was a fantasy. Regardless he honestly doesn’t mind living on his parent’s farm harvesting fruit and selling it all in a week.

“Sehun.”

Sehun stops sorting through the fruit for a moment at his fathers soft and apologetic tone. His family never means harm to him be it emotionally or physically. He knows that they want what’s best for him. Not to mention some of the aunties in the town don’t like the fact that he’s twenty three and still lives at home with his parents. To add further insult to injury his omega status has him often seen as a bit of a loose cannon around the town since he’s not bonded or claimed.

Overall his life has its good moments and bad moments.

However, Sehun has made it a personal goal to look at the positive aspects of his life.

“Look I’m sorry. That was rude of me.” Sehun listens and silently accepts the apology as his father joins in on sorting the fruit beside him. “Your mom and I are just worried and with the pressure from the neighbors it gets to be a bit much. I’m truly sorry for yelling and trying to place my wishes onto you.”

Sehun nods and knows that this was his chance to ask for anything he wanted since his father was trying to right a wrong. And while that seems to be taking advantage of a situation it still was worth a shot at getting out of this blistering heat for a day at most.

“If your really sorry then can I work inside tomorrow?”

He hears his father sigh before feeling an arm pat his back in a reassuring manner.

“Sure thing kiddo.”

Sehun smiles and can practically feel the apologetic air oozing off his father so he stops what he’s doing, setting aside the fruit, and hugs his dad.

It caught the other off guard for a moment and still Sehun did it for reassurance. He wasn’t upset and he could understand why his father acted the way he did. He forgives him and Sehun wants that to be known.

No bad blood between family.

Together they finished sorting out the fruit and carried it inside at an impressive rate. The conversation from earlier was forgotten and Sehun didn’t even care that much about it at this point. The topic would always bug him, but he can put it off for some more time as that seems to be the only thing he can do.

As Sehun laid down in bed that night he thinks for a moment and wonders what it would be like to come out to his family and find comfort in their support. It’s a dream he wants to make a reality and in time it may just happen.

\--

Sehun never minds working Fruitful Finds, his family’s shop, but it can be a bit tiring. However, that’s how it is for a majority of their small town businesses unless it’s a holiday or a really nice summer weekend. At those points his small family of three are all Even then the last thing some people want are desserts on a ninety-degree weekend.

Their business is a family business, meaning no outside help and as an only child among a family of three running a store all alone is pretty much impossible. Thankfully the business was slow today and he actually had time to make the fruit tarts with the fruit he gathered yesterday.

Honestly there was only a fifty fifty chance of him getting to work inside and his parents gave him the okay. Even if he had a blackmail or bribery on his hands. The only problem evident was the famous person and Ms. Lee’s son, two mysterious business men new to town.

Well sort of newish in the case of Ms. Lee’s son. 

From the little football huddle meeting his family had around the dinner table last night he gathered some more information about the son and absolutely nothing about the famous person. Like shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Ms. Lee’s son is named Lee Taeyong and is a year younger than Sehun. He’s above average height and is currently as of last visit still single. His family spent some time debating on whether the boy was an alpha or a beta, but if Sehun remembers correctly the younger boy was surely a beta with alpha qualities. Despite knowing all the information about the Lee boy there was none on the famous person and Sehun had to wonder if it was all a lie or some made up story and that there was no famous person to begin with. 

Regardless he was told to be on the look out for a Lee Taeyong and if the boy was spotted to treat him with the utmost care and respect. But he was also told to remain casual and not treat the poor returning small town native like royalty, that would just be awkward.

Regardless, just smile and say okay even to the rudest customers and weirdest requests. Heck if that’s not the customer service motto in a nutshell then what is.

From the small huddle meeting he could gather that his mother is strong on the belief of making a good impression to Lee Taeyong in hopes that it’ll make a good impression on the famous person and possibly kick up the sales in their business in the process. Honestly it’s a confusing train of thought and the idea was farfetched. Either way Sehun is just repeating the mantra his mother drilled into his head the day before, make a good impression and offer the finest customer service.

Oh and of course smile.

Sehun let his thoughts die out as he brought out the new batch of blueberry muffins.

“Alright Ms. Park take your pick.” Sehun stated as he placed the plate of fresh muffins on the counter.

Ms. Park was one of the older residents of the town and honestly acted like Sehun’s own personal grandmother. She’s super sweet and always makes sure to visit the bakery every other day and buy four blueberry muffins. In a way it’s become a tradition.

“Hm. How about those ones.”

Sehun watches as she points to the four he laid out in front and smiles at her pick.

“Sure thing!”

It was always the same request and same order. Sehun started to make the muffins specially for her, just the way she likes them. Lots of blueberries, a good amount of the crumb topping, and just a bit of decorating sugar. It seems that the townsfolk also agree with the amount of crumb topping and blueberry ratio since the Ms. Park muffin was a big hit.

His actual grandmother’s original blueberry muffin recipe has long since been altered and improved into the Ms. Park’s ideal blueberry muffin recipe. It was something his family joked about often and was one of the few improvements made for the town locals.

The famous Oh family blueberry muffins were now coined the famous Ms. Park blueberry muffins.

His grandmother was probably rolling over so hard in her grave at the thought of someone changing the recipe that she dug herself in another two feet.

Sehun picks up the chosen muffins and places them in a box for her before tying the box with a pretty blue and white intertwined string. He hands them over to her as she hands over ten dollars and he quickly punches the math into the register.

“Thanks Ms. Park!”

“No problem, tell your dad to take care of himself Sehun! We need to see you more often in the shop.” She smiles and makes the universal hand gesture of money. “That pretty face is sure to bring in more customers.”

Sehun feels a slight blush creep up his face and he jokingly brushes her gesture away. In return she laughs and offers a quick wink before leaving the shop. He watches with a smile as she crosses the street to her laundromat shop, making sure that she stayed safe and that no idiot tourist would hit her.

Ms. Park is in a way his own self coined grandmother, like he’s her adopted grandson. A part of that is due to the fact that Sehun has no grandparents. The other part is the fact that Ms. Park absolutely adores him and mentions it every time she visits. So as his “grandmother” he always makes sure to watch out for her and slip in an extra dessert if he can. According to his mother Ms. Park has something similar to diabetes and needs to make the sugar intake.

Once Sehun deems that Ms. Park has safely managed to get to the other side of the road, he sits back down onto his stool behind the register. The remaining muffins were already placed inside the display case and nothing else was in the oven meaning that he can take a much needed break from baking and the rare chance of customers. 

He waited a few more minutes, watching the clock, knowing that as soon as he starts to read someone will walk in and order a huge and complex order. That’s how it always goes.

After a few minutes of waiting, with the obvious lull in customers, Sehun picks up a book he’s read a thousand times over and starts from page one again. It would surely kill some time and honestly he really just needs to do something to keep his mind from wandering into his thoughts, the good and bad.

He could always redraw what he would design the shop to be like if he could get an architect to come out and help. However, he’s done it a good amount of times and he’s actually started to enjoy how the shop looks.

The shop was quaint in it’s old timey cottage feel.

If Sehun recalls correctly this shop was built after the Korean war with specific American cottage designs in mind. To top off the old wicker chairs, blue sky painted walls, and ceiling plants hanging everywhere was a small ceiling fan slowly going in circles. Along with the old school black and white film paintings decorating the walls it really gives off small town small shop vibes. More American small town shop vibes, but it’s still a good and cozy shop. Honestly Fruitful Finds, was one of Sehuns favorite places and meeting new customers who he’s never met before was just a bonus.

The name though was a bit odd.

Fruitful Finds. Definitely something his dad came up with and of course his other then got swept along and gave it the okay. Anything could have worked for a name and despite how cringey it sounds, he would be lying if he said that the name hasn’t grown on him.

Time passes like that for a good half of the morning and he was halfway through the book when the door chimed, signaling that someone had entered the shop.

Sehun had looked at the clock moments ago and took note that the mailman should be here soon with nothing but more bills and probably another credit card company trying to get his family to sign with them.

Therefore, he didn’t bother looking away from his book.

It was getting to that good part, with a fight scene just beginning and the story reaching the climax. It was all about the hero saving the damsel in distress and fighting off the villain while his fellow friends on the quest aid in the battle.

Also known as the best fight scene build up possible. Gotta give Kim Xiumin props for making the best romantic comedy book to exist ever. The book twists fantasy with romance in a world without the horrid second genders and good queer representation. It was an amazingly good read that he’s read over a hundred times. 

_Ding!_

The bell chiming startles Sehun to the point that he drops his book while simultaneously falling from his chair in the most unceremonious way possible. In summary he lost his page and fell down like a clown in the process. 

No one rings the bell though.

No one.

Not a single customer Sehun has met, has ever run the bell.

Typically, the customers say hi and or he realizes that they’re there if he has head buried in a book. However, this customer seems to have caught him off guard and at the best point of the story of course.

The realization sets in though that there’s a decent looking customer before him and he’s just glaring at him with his book gripped between his fingers that at this point must be white from how hard he’s holding the book. So of course he fumbles and drops the book quickly, watching it skid below the counter and out of reach.

After fumbling for another moment and cursing inwardly, he finally manages to stand and smiles widely as he stares at the customer before him.

Sehun is almost positive that the person standing before him is Ms. Lee’s son, Lee Taeyong. First impressions are key and something about this person just says small town rags turned to big city riches. Yet there’s that small part of him that isn’t so sure since the person before him does not look like the little kid he met a couple times in passing.

However, things change and time goes on.

This a world where plastic surgery does exist. Anything is possible and anything goes.

Therefore, the stranger standing before him has all the possibility of being Lee Taeyong.

If that is the case then Lee Taeyong has changed greatly.

Instead of the dark hair and skinny frame from high school, the boy before him is pretty much the opposite. Light hair and a very proportionate frame, with clothes that seemed to give away more about the boys personality than he would let on. He was beautiful as if looking at a really gorgeous sunset, this small town just might be the place for Lee Taeyong to shine. Both literally and figuratively.

Taeyong also appears to have dyed his hair a more blondish brown with the naturally dark roots already growing back. Better yet donned in an outfit consisting of a white tee covered by a green jacket with black and white stripes and a pair of black shorts with chunky black sandals, the boy screamed fashionable and famous. That or it could be the dark sunglasses covering his eyes.

Could he even see?

Overall Taeyong grew into a stylish business man compared to the little rebel he was when he was still living in their small town. Oddly enough it made Sehun feel undressed in his baggy white tee and light blue skinny jeans with way too many rips in them to be considered pants.

_Ding!_

Sehun snaps himself out from his thoughts when the other taps the bell again, reprimanding himself for allowing his thoughts to go off right in front of customer. Better yet it was a customer he was supposed to impress.

First impressions go a long way and he clearly already failed. 

_Snap out of it! Stop staring Oh Sehun!_

“Hi, what can I get for you?” Sehun put on his best customer service smile and fixed his shirt that got messed up when he fell, hopefully brushing off any dust or dirt. His book was still on the ground though and it pained him to see it all crumpled and pushed aside just so he could help the man standing in front of him.

“Hm.”

Sehun watches as the guy looks over the cases and seems to inspect each pastry individually. The stare is pressuring and Sehun feels like his pastries are going to crumble from the judgmental stares thrown their way.

Sehun takes the moment to further look at the boy. He would be lying if he said that Lee Taeyong wasn’t good looking. His decision was further solidified when the boy lifted up his sunglasses and placed them on his head. Finally, Sehun could see the boys face in it’s entirety.

“How about two of the boysenberry muffins and a fruit tart?” The boy pointed to each of the desserts he called out with a slight pout to his lips and Sehun wants so badly to comment on how cute the other is being.

“Sure thing! Anything else?” Sehun asked as he got the box and began to pick out the best looking of the muffins and one of the better looking fruit tarts. Only the best for the gorgeous person before him.

“Well there is something, but I’m not sure if you sell it here.”

Sehun hummed listening to the boy speak and prompting him to continue as he wrapped up the box and began to ring up the pastries.

“Do you guys by chance have any boysenberry patbingsu?” The guy seemed unsure as he asked the question and Sehun fully stops his ministrations, slowly looking up at the boy before him.

Sehun’s steel blue gray eyes meet brown eyes the color of pecans and for a moment he just stares at the boy before him, taking in the others looks in their entirety and feeling no shame in doing so. 

No one ever asked for more than boysenberry muffins, but here this supposed Lee Taeyong was ordering boysenberry patbingsu. Was this fate? Was this a sign? Has someone upstairs finally decided to listen?

Sehun breaks eye contact first and finishing ringing up the pastries.

“Yeah I can surely get that for you! Anything else?” Sehun cringes inwardly at his over the top cheery tone and wants to slam his head against the desert case or stick it in the oven for being so bumbling and awkward.

“Nah, that’ll be enough. Thanks!” The guy smiles again and Sehun did his best to not scream in frustration at how cute the other is being. Like is he aware? 

“I’ll be right back then.” Sehun states with a genuine smile and none of that customer service crap. “You can sit in one of the seats if you want, it’ll be a minute or so.”

“No rush. Take your time.”

Sehun watches as the other picks up his small box of desserts and moves to sit at a nearby table.

Shaking off his thoughts Sehun heads into the back of the shop, quickly making the unique dessert before bringing it back out to the other boy. He made sure to toss on more boysenberries and red bean paste, he even added a couple strawberries as a bonus of sorts. Overall the desert looks amazing and yes he took a photo before taking it back out front. Maybe it was time for his family to take their business online.

As Sehun steps out into the front half of the shop, he stops at the door frame.

The stranger, well supposed Lee Taeyong, is holding his book. The same one he dropped under the counter and then, adding insult to injury, he kicked under the dessert case. The one he was going to pick up as soon as he passed off the dessert.

Yes, he’s heard that the book is cliché and that Xiumin dramatizes everything with way too much flair and glitter. But Sehun loves the book and honestly doesn’t care if anyone disagrees with his opinion. So the fact alone that the stranger went behind the counter to pick up the book and to look at it, speaks lengths to Sehun.

Yes he broke the rules, but wow.

This customer is the most perfect person and Sehun is so glad that his mom is not in the shop or she’d be playing matchmaker for sure. If she had it her way then there would probably be wedding bells ringing before Sehun could even blink.

Sehun snaps himself out of almost yelling at the customer for being so damn perfect in every imaginable way possible and instead puts on the best customer service smile once again. He takes a deep breath to calm himself before walking back out.

_Nice and professional Sehun. Nice and professional._

“Sir,” Sehun ignores how his heart speeds up as the stranger glances over the cover of his book and instead focuses on setting the dessert down at the small table. “If you would like you can take it to go or you can eat it here. If you leave you can return the dish at a later time.”

“Is this your book?”

Sehun stops himself from walking away at the mention of his book. He was so caught up in his thoughts about how perfect and downright gorgeous this stranger is that he almost forgot the main reason he’s over here.

Well aside from the obvious dessert.

“Yeah.”

Sehun is so lost in looking everywhere but the other boy that he almost misses the smirk. Almost.

“Do you want a signed copy?”

“Really?!” Sehun jumps at his sudden outburst, quickly shaking his head before he composes himself. He manages to easily ignore how the other man snickers at his excitement and instead focuses on breathing to calm down even more. “I mean, really?” He’s much better composed the second time round and even pats himself on the back for begin well behaved, figuratively of course.

“Of course I wouldn’t lie. I’m actually close friends with Xiumin.”

Sehun gives the other a suspicious stare and immediately crosses his arms across his body, stepping back and getting far away from the other. He contemplates taking the book with him, but he would hate to use it as a weapon. 

He gave off no indication that he was an omega and he was fairly certain that he was wearing some of the perfume that blocks off your scent. Still if the other knew then Sehun could only prepare to kick the others ass if he tried anything.

“Oddly enough that’s exactly what someone who lies would say to convince you they aren’t lying.” Sehun raises his eyebrow and for a moment the other just stares at him with a disbelieving look on his face before bursting out in laughter.

“Oh my gosh you really think I would do that?” The other exclaimed whilst laughing loudly and with his mouth open so wide that Sehun could see all of the others perfect teeth and oddly sharp canines. An alpha for sure, even more reason to be on guard. “Look I promise I won’t hurt you. Hell, my reputation as a CEO is on the line.”

“CEO?” Sehun asked quickly not missing a beat as the realization comes down that this is not Lee Taeyong and surely not a stranger, this was some high ranking CEO. And he was making a fool of himself in front of said CEO. Not to mention he has the chance to receive a signed copy of Xiumins best seller and what does he do? He goes all crazy defensive nearly breaking the mans fingers.

Finally, all his past misfortune has caught up and led to this day.

“Oh Shit.”

Sehun curses at his luck and can’t decide whether he should be happy about the circumstances or downright pretending to be somewhere else.

Thankfully the other must have read the atmosphere or the horrific look on Sehuns face since he started to speak again.

“Okay that’s probably that fault.” Sehun watches as the other scratches his head. “This whole weird introduction.” The man steps out of seat, gesturing to everything around them and Sehun steps back. No matter the situation he’s still going to be safe. “Hi! I’m Kim Junmyeon one of the two CEOs of Kim and Byun Corporations, a clothing company originated in Seoul. I’m here on a trip to relax and get away from life back in the big city. I saw this small shop and thought why not. It looks nice. Turns out my instincts were right.”

Sehun listens intently to every word the other is saying, jotting it down in his memory as best as he can. It dawns on him after the others sort of short spiel that this man in front of, Kim Junmyeon, is the famous person that his family was worried about. Better yet said man is an alpha and making some odd advances on him that he hopes are just friendly.

“What about you?” Junmyeon asks and Sehun is caught off guard, relaxing and allowing a look of confusion to make it across his face.

“What about me?” Sehuns tone grows defensive and he could practically see the other frown. Be it from the tone of his voice or the fact that Sehun was putting up walls he was unsure. Regardless he doesn’t need a stranger knowing anything about him. Not even if it’s why he enjoys Xiumins books, that’s classified information Kim. 

“Come on tell me about yourself.”

“Your patbingsu is melting.” Sehun quickly redirects the topic and even points to the melting dessert.

“Okay, I know we just met. Of sorts.” Junmyeon continues to pester ignoring Sehun’s half hearted attempts at diverting the conversation like a pro.

“Of sorts.” Sehun parrots the other showing that he’s following along and agreeing to a degree.

“And there’s not a lot of customers.”

“Ouch. That hurt.”

“Truth hurts darling.” Junmyeon winks and cheerily does a pair of double finger guns his way. It’s full of cringe and yet Sehun scoffs before laughing. He’s laughing so bad that he momentarily forgets about the nickname, but when it does come back he’s blushing ever so slightly. Its clearly enough to be noticed by the other as he then proceeds to do the finger gun concept again, throwing them both into another fit of laughter.

It takes a moment for both of them to calm down and be able to speak without sounding like dying hyenas.

“So as I was suggesting. Sit with me and let me get to know more about anything you want.” Junmyeon pulls out one of the chairs and Sehun bites his lip in uncertainty.

There were no customers and it isn’t like the other man isn’t gorgeous. He contemplates it for a moment and then wonders about how he would break his sexuality to the other. A scenario he’s thought about a thousand times, but has never actually had play out.

How does one say that they’re asexual and don’t want any sexual aspect of a relationship when people get into relationships sometimes for the sex or because of the sex? When does someone tell their partner or future partner that they don’t want none of that X rated stuff?

“Darling.” Junmyeons tone is sweet and concerned, even though the endearment is tooth rotting sweetness not to mention uncalled for. It manages to break Sehun out of his small rant and he takes a look at the chair once more before finally throwing caution to the wind. Heck he probably just startled the other by taking a temporary trip and letting his thoughts carry him away.

So he smiles and takes a seat in the chair that Junmyeon has pulled out.

“So tell me more about yourself.” The other has excitement oozing off as he sits with his head held in his hands. Sehun wonders momentarily how many friends the CEO truly has when he sounds so excited to get to know a small town man running his family’s fruit shop. “And it can be anything. I honestly don’t care.” 

Sehun nods, unsure at first but he opens his mouth to speak when the other cuts him off.

“You can totally have some of this as well if you want.” Junmyeon shoves the patbingsu so that it sat in the middle of table and Sehun smiles when the other held out a second spoon. “Oh and if you don’t feel comfortable sharing toss the conversation back. I’ll gladly vent.” Junmyeon offers a sweet smile and precariously Sehun takes the spoon.

The situation was still weird and he was sitting across a man he just met, sharing shaved ice.

“Okay.” He began, clearing his throat and taking a big scoop of the cold dessert into his mouth before continuing. “I’m Oh Sehun and I’m twenty-three. I’ve lived in this small town my whole life and have never traveled anywhere aside for the mandatory military.” Sehun waved his spoon at the other as he could feel the walls he put up slowly start fall down. If it was a fortress he was sure that the little soldiers would be running around screaming at the sudden breach.

“Well it’s a pleasure to be in your presence Oh Sehun. A fellow boysenberry lover I assume.”

Sehun smiles, shrugging at that comment and takes another bite. He didn’t want to dwell on how the other knew that small fact and he hopes that it was based off the fact that he didn’t turn the other away at the initial offer. 

“What can I say they’re really good.”

“Oh I can totally agree.” Junmyeon nods before taking a large bite and then shivering. “So cold!”

Sehun laughs at the other and for once he can feel himself relaxing. Yes, this person is still a stranger, but he wants to know more.

He enjoys how Kim Junmyeon doesn’t degrade him or hasn’t even mentioned his second status. Neither has the other done anything to make him feel vulnerable aside from their initial meeting and the brief book incident. Junmyeon is aware of his actions and is clearly watching him to see if something offends him.

Either that or Kim Junmyeon really knows how to get what he wants and as a CEO that’s completely possible. So he’s either a gentleman or a pervert using the gentleman rouse to get what he wants.

Sehun drops his smile as uncertainties begin again and he grows unsure if he should keep talking to this man. He’s sure that by the time the other leaves he’ll just be another small town nobody. Yet, for some reason he doesn’t want to be.

“Junm—” Sehun starts off at a whisper, uncertainty taking hold of his voice, when someone busts through the door. Both of them turn to the sudden noise and Sehun turns when he hears Junmyeon sigh.

“Sir!” The boy stumbling into the shop is dressed in a black two-piece business suit, his whitish blond hair is everywhere and with the glasses it’s a dead giveaway that this is Lee Taeyong. Well that and the aura that the other is giving off still screams chaotic.

This bumbling boy is definitely the same Lee Taeyong who got his tongue stuck to the metal pole in the midst of a blizzard. There’s no doubt about it. Sehun giggles as he remembers the scolding they got for causing trouble and scaring the living daylights out of Taeyongs grandmother.

“Taeyong.” Junmyeons tone is oddly concerned considering that the other technically just interrupted their conversation. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt you sir, but you have a video meeting in less than half an hour with Zitao to discuss some designs for the line launching next season.” Taeyong bows and Sehun raises an eyebrow in confusion at the act.

“Wasn’t Baekhyun supposed to take the call?”

“One of his kids fell out of a tree and he had to rush to the hospital to calm his husband down.”

Junmyeon sighs deeply rubbing at the spot between his eyebrows. Sehun suddenly feels like he shouldn’t be hearing this conversation and sets his spoon down beside the bowl, reading the conversation for the first chance to leave.

“Tell Zitao I’ll take the call and run through the designs with him in forty minutes and no less.” Junmyeon stands, taking the small box of dessert and handing it over to Taeyong. He ushers the other off before turning and facing Sehun.

So much for a subtle escape.

“Hey I had fun today, even if it was short. You can enjoy the rest of the patbingsu.” Junmyeon talked quickly and Sehun could sense the haste the other is in so he nods. “Do you have a business card so I can remember where this is?”

Sehun stands instead of saying anything outright and hurries behind the counter to find one of their older business cards.

“Here you go.” He hands it over and jumps when a hand ruffles his hair.

“Thanks Sehun. I’ll see you soon! Enjoy the book and snack!” Junmyeon hurries over to the exit and has a foot out the door when Sehun speaks up.

“I too had fun today! Thanks Junmyeon!” Sehun shouts with all his lung power as if it was possible to convey his happiness that way. When he finally looks up from the potted plant that is so damn interesting he finds Junmyeon laughing and shooting another pair of finger guns at him. 

They part with a final wave and Sehun watches as the other hops into a fancy black car before driving off.

“What the hell just happened?” Sehun asks to no one in particular as he walks back to the table, sinking back into his seat as he begins to eat again. He shakes his head and continues to eat knowing quite well that he won’t be seeing the other again, the chances are just so unlikely. Not to mention he has the luck of a blind frog. 

Sehun laughs at the situation before shaking his head. He takes another deep breath before standing and picking up the dessert, setting it behind the counter and near the register. Quickly grabbing his book he returns to his return stool behind the register and continues on as he was before Junmyeon.

Sitting there lost in the woes of cliché romance as told by Kim Xiumin in his family’s small fruit shop surrounded by a dozen potted plants and a boatload of antique furniture. Not to mention he’s _still_ anticipating the daily mail.

\--

Sehun flops onto his bed with a groan as he feels all his muscles scream out in agony. It doesn’t stop there though as his leg cramps up for the third time since he walked up the damn stairs. Quickly sitting up with a curse he slowly eases the cramp out of his leg before laying back onto his bed. 

“Damn it.” He sighs deeply, rubbing his face in agony whilst yawning. After another tired sigh he reaches to his nightstand and fumbles around for a moment, snagging a pad of paper and sitting back up.

He continues to fumble around for another moment, unceremoniously searching around his nightstand blindly looking for a pen and smiling when he manages to grab one. He assures himself again that his leg won’t fall off at a point due to cramps before he clicks the pen and begins to write down his to do list for the week. There’s only one goal, aside a few additional sub goals, and depending on the variables the overall goal may just be possible. It’ll be like some top secret spy mission where the elite spy has to go take out one of the worlds largest drug cartels.

Only he’s no spy and Kim Junmyeon hopefully doesn’t run a drug cartel in his spare time. Though the latter surely has enough money and Sehun isn’t so sure that being a CEO makes that much. Still he jots down his thoughts as he pushes aside the spy analogy before he over complicates the whole thing and ditches the to do list altogether. 

‘Kill Kim Junmyeon’, is what he writes in the center of the paper like the uncoordinated person he is. Like how uncoordinated his life has simultaneously become over the past few days.

Sehun goes over the text again and again, making the sentence bold as he draws small doodles that hopefully convey his current hate for the other. He manages to doodle a small angry smiley face before exploding completely.

Standing quickly, he tosses the notepad across the room after crossing out the list with brief, but hasty series of Xs. He lets out a scream and after a moment he flops back onto his bed and grabs pillow, screaming his heart out further as he tries to rekindle what little peace he had pre-Kim Junmyeon.

It has only been three days since Kim Junmyeon visited their shop and apparently the other managed to take some photos of their place and posted it on the internet shortly after his visit. What followed was a mass amount of people showing up to the shop in either hordes or by the dozens to try their desserts.

Since that fateful post three days ago their family business went from locals only to everyone within a 50-mile radius. In other terms and behind the scene terms that only his family could really understand, their business has managed to finally take off and sky rocket more so in three days than it did in twenty-five years.

Thousands of fans who follow CEO Kim Junmyeon seemed to be wowed by his poetic way of describing their muffins and boom there’s a line out the door the next day. Not to mention poor Ms. Park had to go around back to get her daily muffins, free of charge, like some shady drug deal Sehun’s seen in the foreign dramas.

He’s honestly still surprised the cops haven’t arrested him under the belief of him harboring drugs. Then again can omegas even smuggle drugs successfully. Probably, just not Sehun. He’s way to clumsy and tired to deal with that shit, not to mention busy.

Very busy.

It’s not a bad thing to be busy, but to be this busy with only three people running the place is impossible. And no, hiring someone else is not happening either since it’s another means of loosing money.

Honestly he just hates that their small comfortable shop blew up into fame overnight. He’s pretty sure there isn’t one folk among all of Seoul who hasn’t heard of their small shop. Be it by word of mouth or the multitude of social media posts.

However, it’s his parents dream. They threw their all into this small berry shop and he can’t even begin to imagine how happy the recent inflow of customers has made them.

“Sehun!”

The boy in question groans at the mention of his name and rolls over only because he knows how his mother gets if she’s ignored. He trudges out of his room and to the top of the stairs calling down to her to see what she needs.

“What?!” He flinches slightly at the harsh tone of his voice and shoots out a muttered sorry a moment after. It’s been a long day for all of them and despite this being the sort of busy they’ve always wanted it’s so sudden at this point that they’re all working overtime to keep up. In other terms instead of a gradual flow of customers they got a never ending stream of new customers.

“You have a package.”

He rolls his eyes and yet his curiosity is there ever so slightly telling him to go look. He didn’t order anything and knows that his parents sure as hell haven’t either. If his legs didn’t hurt so much then he might consider walking down the stairs to check out the mystery package, but it’ll just have to wait till tomorrow.

Tomorrow as in five hours, when he has to get up at six in the morning to prep the kitchen.

With his decision made he yawns, rubbing his stomach through his thin long sleeve shirt and begins the walk back to his room. Hopefully his mom will eventually realize that he doesn’t care when he doesn’t go down the stairs.

“Sehun!”

“What?!” He yells back with anger evident his sleepy tone. Five hours of sleep is on the line after all, not a precious moment should be wasted. 

“Are you coming to get the package?!” He sighs at the slight hint of irritation in his mother’s voice and feels bad for making her tense. They’ve all been working overtime with keeping the kitchen in order and gathering fruit out in the fields. It’s been one hell of a week and they’re only on Wednesday. Four days left to Monday and then it begins again.

The thought of a vicious cycle and another hellish weekend makes him groan in agony before he realizes that his mother asked him a question he has yet to respond to. 

“No! I’m going to be—”

“It’s from a Kim Minseok!”

Sehun stops with his foot in the door frame, response dying on his tongue. All thoughts are abandoned as his mother’s words bounce around in his head for a moment, sleep clearly delaying his thought process. 

The name is oddly familiar and after a moment of thought it clicks.

“Kim Xiumin?!” Sehun screams out in disbelief as he bolts down the stairs, tripping on the last three and somehow landing on the old wooden floor without breaking something or waking up his dad. He slides into the kitchen, thankful for his slippers amazing traction, where his mother is standing before the stove and a pot of what he can only assume to be chamomile tea.

“Yeah. It’s the table.” Sehun watches as she gestures to the table and he wastes no time in checking out the box for himself, ignoring his mother as she continues to talk. “It arrived at the shop today during the middle of a rush.” She chuckles and Sehun looks up, curious to hear his mother let out such a sound. “The poor mail carrier almost got mobbed trying to get in. He was clearly surprised at the amount of people for once.” She laughs again as if replaying additional scenes in her head that she hadn’t voiced out loud. 

He smiles at the fact that his mother seems to have had a good day for once. Busy, but good.

Maybe it’s the life she always envisioned. Her and his fathers shop bustling with happy customers who appreciate their hard work. Enjoying the food and atmosphere while idle chatter fills the small space of the bakery.

Maybe this reality is her dream.

A dream that is so much more than customers just spending their money because a famous person said so. It’s the dream of being busy and having new customers show up everyday accompanied by a new regular. It’s exploring new recipes and expanding outside the small box that his parents were put in by the old society.

“You gonna open it?”

Sehun snaps out of his overthinking at his mothers sweet and concerned tone with a bit of underlying excitement. He hopes that no matter the situation, regardless of being busy or not at the bakery, that his mother smiles more often. It brightens up the house and business. Not to mention he’s pretty sure it makes their whole lifestyle seem more positive, like a single lit lantern in the darkness.

Hearing his mother refill her tea cup brings him back and he finally begins to examine the mystery package from Kim Xiumin that sits on the table before him. 

The box is a good size with a cheesy smiling cat sticker on top near the shops address. All of it checks out though as the address of Kim Xiumin is similar to Kim Minseoks, both located in a ritzy part of Seoul that Sehun has only heard of from a variety of famous celebrities in drama interviews.

Kim Xiumin is an alias for Kim Minseok, a pen name of sorts. According to some sources the name came from Kim’s alleged husband. However, rumors are never to be trusted. Rumors bend towards what a person wants to hear and they almost always exploit a person in a not so nice manner. Not to mention most articles are biased towards or against a topic and show no signs of budging or at the very least doing some more in-depth research. 

He snaps out of staring at the box, and over complicatedly thinking about the ethicalness of the media, and actually attempts to rip open the box bare handed, but there are clearly several layers of tape on it.

He takes a moment and silently curses the postal system and there extreme measures of ensuring no damages to the package.

Sehun really wants to just open the box and see what’s inside, but much like his day nothing goes the way he wants. It’s a damn package from Kim Xiumin, he just has to know what's inside and has to know why he has a package from his favorite author. For anyone else it might be nonsense to be ecstatic over a package from an author, but this is Kim Xiumin. _The_ Kim Xiumin.

“Here.” Sehun stops his frantic ministrations and looks up to find his mother holding out a pair of scissors. He takes them and offers her a soft nod as a thank you. “Well hurry on.” She laughs into her cup of tea and he smiles briefly before cutting through the several layers of tape.

“Wow.” Sehun stares into the box speechless at its contents.

From the looks of things alone without delving deeper into the box he can already see some of Kim Xiumin’s bestsellers and other spinoffs, along with what appear to be some unreleased additions. Almost all of which are in glorious hardcover format smelling like they’re straight off the press.

He picks up a book and quickly flips through the pages letting the crisp smell of paper and ink fill his senses. It’s brand new and judging from the bold pen lines in the first pages, it’s a signed copy nonetheless. 

Sehun swiftly sets the book aside gently before picking up another, curious if it too is a signed copy.

Sure enough the second book he grabs is a signed copy, along with almost all the other books in the box. Only when he reaches the bottom does he find an envelope addressed to him. From the handwriting alone he can tell it’s from the same man who wrote all these books and signed them as well.

In his tired and excited haste he begins to rip it open the letter before his mother sharply cuts in with a yell.

“Ack! Are you crazy?!”

Sehun stares at her blankly for a moment, trying to not laugh at how his mom almost spit her tea everywhere due to his frantic ministrations. Then again she was right and he should handle such an important letter with care. It’s not everyday a person gets a letter addressed to them from someone they idolize.

“Here.” She holds out a letter opener and Sehun takes it after thanking her. He watches her shake her head with a smile gracing her lips before slicing open the letter.

He pulls out the letter and is genuinely surprised to find a cheesy thank you card. It seems so unlike Kim Xiumin and yet at the same time the simple cat artwork on the front really does scream Kim Xiumin. It’s simple and classy…or cheesy, depending on how one views it.

Slowly he opens it and finds a whole side of the card covered in the same handwriting he’s been idolizing for a good portion of his twenties. He skims it briefly and from what he understands it’s a thank you for reading and that if he ever does visit Seoul to visit with Junmyeon.

The name causes him to frown temporarily.

Kim Junmyeon is the cause of all their woes and worries at the moment. Yet at the same time he’s bringing their business to new heights with that social media post. Kim Junmyeon is a mysterious man on thin ice. Very thin ice.

“What does it say?” He startles at the sound of his mother’s voice, temporarily forgetting her presence as he got absorbed into the letter.

For a second he debates telling her nothing and yet one look at the excitement and child-like curiosity on her face has him clearing his tired throat to read out Kim Xiumins letter.

“Dear Sehun,

Thank you so much for reading all of my nonsensical stories. It’s nice to know someone appreciates them nowadays aside from workers on break at the dump or warehouse. I heard your favorite story is ‘Return to You’ and I’m really glad you enjoy it. I’ve heard from several people that the story and characters are a bit too much.

Either way I just wanted to send you a simple thank you gift for reading and enjoying my stories.

Along with the signed copies I’ve included a series of poems I’ve written with a co-author named Suho. I’m sure you’ll love them, even if poems aren’t necessarily your thing. Suho has a unique way of writing and I’m a thousand percent sure you’ll like him. 

If you ever happen to be in Seoul tell Junmyeon to have you swing by the shop for a coffee, on the house of course. Maybe then we can talk some more about writing and maybe, I could even get some feedback. Maybe that will be the inspiration needed to finish my next story. 

Well till then, happy reading!

Kim Minseok.”

Sehun exhales loudly as he gasps to regain his breath again. The author was so lively to a mere reader that it baffles him as he goes back over the letter again while his mother is now looking through the books.

Of course when reading the letter out loud he left out the all the smileys and even small winking face that Kim Minseok drew when mentioning the other author Suho. If his mother starts to get ideas in her head they won’t ever leave. Better yet he has no clue who the hell this Suho guy is so she would really just be getting her hopes up or as some people call it putting the carriage in front of the horse. At least that might be the saying and if not it’s damn close to it, Sehun’s sure of it. 

“Wow.”

Sehun looks up and finds his mother nose deep in one the books with an amused smirk on her face.

“What?”

She smiles before speaking while waving one of the aforementioned authors books around.

“This is the author you used to read all the time, right?”

“Yep the one and only.” Sehun picks up the small poem book and opens it to find it signature-less. He flips to the title page and finds it to be the poem book that Kim Minseok mentioned in his letter. This was the one by Suho.

“Self Portrait?” Sehun mutters to himself as he opens the poem book to the first page and takes in the first poem.

It’s titled “Let’s Love” and there is small little drawing of a well, or wishing well, hand drawn messily in the corner. The well looks aged and has moss growing all over, maybe the writer is begging the wishing well to work and make their hopes and dreams come true.

He lets out a whispered ‘wow’ as he continues to flip through the book and skim the pages, taking in the small drawings every so often. 

Right off the bat the aesthetic of the book seems to be outright confrontations and holding nothing back, everything about this book screams being messy, uncoordinated, and raw. It’s truthful and for some odd reason Sehun can feel a connection to this style of disorganized writing in which the author is baring himself for the readers to see.

All the bad emotions, all the bad days, and all the downs that life offers are written in an idyllic poem format or drawn into hasty drawings and combined into one paperbound book no more than a hundred pages long.

This poem book, “Self Portrait”, is a book that shows the harsh reality of what life is beyond the beautiful lies people make it out to be. It’s truthful and that’s why Sehun sets it aside from the others, intent on reading it during his free time. 

He hears his mother sigh and looks up, forgetting that she was even there as he was going through the small poem book. Sehun takes a seat and watches as she continues to go through the books.

His mother shakes her head again before setting the book she is holding aside and picking her tea up again. The atmosphere slowly turns as her obvious excitement fades into something more primal and more motherly.

Protective.

“What?” Sehun asks genuinely confused to his mother’s reaction. It’s so palpable in the air he can cut it it with a knife.

“Honestly, I think there’s another motive behind sending these books.”

Sehun freezes up instantly at her words, poem book open once again to the title page and his hand debating whether to turn the page or not. He was just about to read the first poem and trying to get an idea of how rough this book would be. Like does he need tissues or a boatload of snacks to munch on.

“What?”

“I’m not trying to be mean Sehun and you know that both me and your father want the best for you. This package is from someone you idolize and it came out of nowhere. Doesn’t that seem suspicious. Better yet he knew about the bakery and about your favorite book.” Her words start to make more sense than he wants to admit and so he slowly starts to close the poem book. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that you enjoy these books. Just be aware that something is missing from this equation.”

He sets the poem book down, putting it off to the side, and nods.

His mother’s just being protective, but it’s too late to deal with the questions and assumptions. Not to mention there was still that whole ‘to do list’ of his that still needs to be sorted out.

“It’s late and we have to be up in,” He takes a quick glance to the grandfather clock in the living room barely able to see the time and instead just guessing. “Four and a half hours.” He closes up the box and breathes out to calm his mind. “I’m gonna head to bed, thanks for letting me know about the package.” Sehun picks up the package after placing all the books and poem book back, much to his regret, setting it aside where no one will trip on it in the early morning.

Finally, he turns and looks at his mother to see her excitement gone and replaced with worry and a hint of either sadness or regret. Sehun steps towards her and envelops her in a hug, feeling her relax.

He’s their only child and better yet an omega at that. Sehun’s just happy he’s not treated like fine china or constantly wearing a fragile sticker. He’s all they got and they’re all he’s got.

“I’m not mad.” Sehun says it to clear the air and clarify that his mother didn’t ruin the mood. She’s just being cautious of him and he can understand why, as she said the situation is sketchy. And yes there is chance that Mr. Kim tipped off Kim Minseok and that’s why he got a package, but honestly it seems far fetched.

But then again Minseok did know Junmyeons name. 

“I know honey.” Her voice interrupts his thoughts about interrogating CEO Kim the next time he visits and he sets the whole train wreck of thoughts into the trash. Problems for another time and another day. 

He hugs her tight once more before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“I’ll be up first thing in the morning to prepare the kitchen, so you and dad can sleep in.” Sehun turns to walk away and at last minute he turns back, decision made. “I appreciate you looking out for me mom. It means the world to me. Don’t feel bad, someone’s got to have a level head in this family.” He waves goodbye as she places her teacup in the sink, slowly turning off the kitchen lights.

“Get some sleep Sehun. I’ll see you later.”

He smiles as he begins to walk up the stairs as her words are genuine and filled with emotion that he can feel. 

“You too mom. I love you.” It’s whispered and he’s almost a thousand percent she can’t hear him, but he knows that he doesn’t have to say it because his mother already knows from all the times he’s said it before.

\--

At eight in the morning Sehun’s alarm goes off as loud as his phone will allow. Filling his small bedroom with the iconic intro that is ‘Iron Man’ by Black Sabbath.

Better yet, since there is a chance that no one else is home at the moment and he lives in the midst of the country, he can blare the music even louder if he desires. Maybe even hold a mini concert with only himself and old recordings of one of the best bands ever.

The thought’s tempting and since he technically isn’t working inside today it’s even more possible. 

However, to hold a mini concert and jam his heart out he’d have to get up first.

The guitar riff picks up again after Ozzy’s voice proclaims the famous song title and Sehun groans, before he proceeding to bury himself further beneath his covers. 

He’s marginally upset at the prospect of having to wake up and at the same time he really wants to stand up and jam along to the classic rock song. It’d would surely be like his own mini Black Sabbath concert at eight in the morning in the midst of the South Korean countryside. Maybe a mini concert would be a good idea, it’ll get the blood flowing and he’d be pumped for the day. That and his chances to ever go to a Black Sabbath concert in real life are slim as hell.

Maybe if he was born in the seventies but nah he was born in the nineties and only then became aware of such legends around twenty-ten when he was only in his mid-teens.

Part of that is why Sehun simultaneously loves and hates his alarm.

It’s a never ending thought that happens almost every morning and yet he never changes the song before he goes to bed. A small part of his brain is convinced that he loves Black Sabbath too much to change the song. The other part merely thinks that the song is a great motivator to wake up. While some part of him thinks that ‘Iron Man’ holds the same chances of him waking up as the doomsday alarm. The latter alarm tone was annoying as hell and waking up in a panic every morning is really not needed.

So he changed it.

From doomsday to Shinee and finally to Black Sabbath.

It would probably be some time before he changes it again to a louder song.

If possible, if not then Black Sabbath stays.

Sehun had Shinee playing for quite some time when he was just entering his twenties, before he changed that alarm tone because of how sick and tired he was of hearing ‘Ring Ding Dong’ at five in the morning. It must have gotten to his mom as well at some point because some mornings he could hear her reciting a butchered rendition of what he assumed to be the lyrics. Only later on did he get a full hearing of what his mom thought about the song.

She said something about going psycho hearing the same song every morning in what she self coined as the crazy song. To further her point, she reenacted her botched lyrical rendition of another great Shinee hit, ‘Dream Girl’. Sehun had stopped her argument at that point, too tired to hear anymore and too loyal of a Shawol to let his mom walk all over Shinee like that.

Like nah no shade on any of his boys.

He made a mental note to metaphorically sprinkle more salt to keep his demon mother away from his precious Shinee boys.

In the end he walked away hoping that by dubbing Shinee as singers of a crazy song his mom would finally let him play some more Shinee in the shop. Maybe they’d bring in all sorts of crazy.

Not saying that all Shawols are crazy, just some of them.

His mom included.

Yet she never did let him play Shinee in the shop and he was instead left to listen to the classic Korean pop music while tending to the fields. Blasting ‘Replay’ and ‘In My Room’ as loud as he wants with only the fruit trees and berry bushes to hear. 

Now he has ‘Iron Man’ by Black Sabbath as his alarm. 

The song is great because it’s Ozzy Osbourne, the prince of darkness and a rock music legend. Not to mention hearing ‘Iron Man’ every morning just makes him want to stand on his bed and do a poor job of playing along to the song on his very broken air guitar. 

A lot of early on Black Sabbath songs would make for some pretty decent motivational songs.

As the song picks up again and reaches the chorus it breaks his endless thinking.

Sehun lets out a deep sigh and rolls around in distaste at the realization of having to wake up and once again have another packed day running on very little sleep.

Having to work this past week on a very tight sleep schedule has destroyed him mentally and physically. He already looks like an odd zombie with the start of his half hearted farmers tan being uneven and dark circles probably about two inches around both his eyes. So he’s not too sure what the next stage would be of physically conveyed misery would be. Maybe he’ll be taken to a lab and experimented on or better yet put out of his seemingly never ending misery.

Today though is a bit different.

Well hopefully more-so than the past week.

Through the last week and a half, the customers began to dwindle down and the overflow became somewhat of a steady flow. There’s no real influx of new customers and if there is they don’t arrive in hordes and masses. It’s more controlled and the situation seems to have been handled.

After all the shop was recommend by a CEO and not some huge pop idol, so there’s no real reason for hordes of preteen girls to surround their small shop. Not saying that it’s just girls because there are some guys out their along with older fans.

Honestly, it’s an interesting variety and it made Sehun think for a moment about how wealthy Kim Junmyeon must really be to have reached this many people. Maybe it was too soon to rid of the drug cartel mob boss analogy from his list of possible side jobs that Kim Junmyeon has. 

Regardless, he’s been working in the fields for the past few days and his parent’s definition of controlled is probably different than his. Very different.

So the situation in the shop could be different than what he’s been hearing. Knowing his luck and how much the world likes to test his patience, the shop is probably filled again and Ms. Park is probably still collecting her muffins out back.

Sehun sighs once more, determined to get up and start the day. He punches his pillow quickly, before finally sitting up in bed and blinking a couple times to adjust to the early morning sun. He rubs his eyes as he fumbles for his phone and turns off his alarm, shutting down all chances of an early morning jam. He yawns quickly before blinking again and scratching his head in a barley awake manor.

Slowly he stands and does a series of quick stretches before meandering over to his desk below the window passing by the poster clad walls that make up his room.

That’s one of the things he’s silently thankful for. His small room is really his room, no blank walls or funky outdated furniture. Instead he has several band flags and smaller tapestries lining his walls. Whatever isn’t covered by fabric is covered by posters from old bands and new, from heavy rock bands to some old school kpop boy groups. Occasionally an old movie poster or piece of art can be found on the walls if one was to look closely.

His favorite part of his room though is not the disastrously covered walls it’s the ceiling.

He looks around his room, taking in the chaotic-ness of it, before finally looking up at the ceiling, smiling as the memories of when this family all worked together to redesign his room come back to him.

They spent months planning and hours picking out paint colors, pouring money they didn’t really have into redecorating Sehun’s space. He remembers going through the magazines that Ms. Park would bring over sometimes and how he would look at the various rooms inside some of them, pointing out things he liked and even going as far to point out the things he didn’t like.

In a way the room in it’s entirety is a silent reassurance that everything will be okay and that your second gender does not define who you are. Sehun learned this to be true over time and remembers spending hours putting posters up and tearing them down, fixing all his little possessions so they fit his room in a somewhat dignified manner. 

The walls of his room are a nice shade of dark blue, chosen because the original shade of mint green looked more nursery room color compared to the rebelling teen bedroom look he was going for at the time.

The first paint job was hasty and ended in a messy paint fight that was captured in a series of equally chaotic photos. When they did finally finish the walls though, it didn’t matter since none of the walls were really visible anyways after being covered by various pieces of art.

The ceiling though, took even more months of planning and research.

Sehun remembers all the hours of researching constellations and star patterns. How often they appear, when, where and why. 

He remembers how his father told him the final product had to be perfect after the idea was finally decided upon. The design was a part of a promise to his grandmother and how she would have loved to see her only grandson have a ceiling like such.

He never did meet her and only really heard of his grandmother in hushed whispers on her birthday and in the most somber of times. Sehun knows very little about her and her love for the stars and planets.

Maybe that’s where he got his endless tendency to daydream his life away. Spending hours and hours just dreaming of a hopeless romance or some outlandish fantasy saving damsels in distress.

Sometimes he too got lost in the stars.

Wondering countless what ifs.

Like what if his room were two different shades of color? Would it look odd or would it look like art? If it was art would it be abstract or realism? Maybe surrealism? Would it even matter? If so to who?

In the end though both the walls and ceiling in his room are a deep navy blue, painted so not a spot was left and the tacky white color prior wasn’t visible at all. Easing all his wonders and worries and after the final paint job his family got to work on the real project, the stars.

Scattered across the ceiling were those cheap glow in the dark stars you can buy at discount stores placed besides other stars painted in a similar glow in the dark paint. Several other glow in the dark decals stuck on random pieces of furniture, giving his room chaotic vibes with the hodgepodge of art and stars.

It’s probably an astronomers dream and nightmare rolled into one very dark and alluring bedroom ceiling.

Though upon further thought, it’s probably an OCD persons living nightmare.

For Sehun though the stars are a reminder that the world is huge and the possibilities are endless. He is just a single star out of the many and he has the chance to make an impact or go supernova trying.

Sehun sighs at the thought, looking out at the fields beyond his window as he takes a seat at his desk. Slowly, but surely he begins to earnestly think about his purpose in this world. It makes him sad that he can’t come up with anything, but then he remembers the poem book.

The author in a way is so similar to him that it makes him want to read the book regardless of mere spoken consequences. For once his mother doesn’t have to know and he’ll read the small book when he gets the chance to because he has to know.

Sehun has to know what this author is feeling and why they’re feeling that way. Maybe they too are worried about living a lie or worse living with no purpose other than not wanting to die.

As he feels himself start to fall into his thoughts, Sehun sits up quickly and slips on his slippers before making his way down to the first floor two stairs at a time.

The need to read the mysterious poem book pulls him down quickly and he can barely contain the excitement he feels at the prospect of finally being able to read the book. 

By the time Sehun has reached the first floor he is positive his parents are out based on how quiet the house is and how every room feels to be a still frame. It’s too quiet though and he thinks about playing more music as he gets ready for the day when he hears thunder rumble in the distance.

“Shit.”

Sehun hurries over the front door and swings it open before stepping outside onto the small porch. One look at the sky seals his fate and he knows he has to hurry.

Dark clouds line the skies in the far distance, brewing and threating to spill over at any moment. To anyone out of town the current white and fluffy clouds look like they’ll bring nothing but sunshine. To locals they know that this is merely the calm before the storm.

Sehun breathes deep and can practically smell the rain heavy in the air. The air he’s breathing in tastes salty on his tongue and the wind is surely there, but not harsh enough to mess up his bedhead.

It’s going to rain, possibly downpour, and there’s no denying that.

He curses inwardly again at the situation and at the same time is thankful that he won’t have to water anything. Instead he now has to hurry to harvest some of the produce and care for other parts of the new orchard before the approaching downpour. 

Lighting and trees never mix well. The old grocery store owner in town can attest to that statement real easy.

Sehun bites his lip in temporary thought before closing the door and hurrying back inside. Running back up the stairs as quick as he came down them, deciding to forgo the poem book at the moment. 

Contemplation on his place in the world and endless existential crises can wait till later.

Sehun steps into his room and quickly checks the time before changing into an outfit more fit for todays rainy weather.

Typically, he opts for something similar to cargo shorts and a tee if he’s working outside, but for today since it’s going to rain he’s going with jeans and a tee. Shorts would flood his work boots before he made it a quarter of the way through the fields. 

After a quick attempt at taming his hair and brushing his teeth he’s going down the stairs, socks in one hand and phone in his back pocket. As he hits the landing he sees the box of books and has to shake his head so he doesn’t let curiosity take over.

He can indulge in the poem book later, for now he has to work.

As he puts on his shoes he feels himself finally manage to calm down from the initial panic and realization that it was going to rain. He has a good feeling that the panic is the result of his annoyance for the rain the one day he has to really be outside. Well that and honestly being struck by lighting is not on his to do list or bucket list. 

Maybe though the rain will clear his head and offer some insight on his place in life.

Not some sky splitting type of ‘Lion King’ advice, but maybe just a small nudge in the right direction. If there is a right direction. Is there even a wrong direction?

Sehun stops his thoughts and shakes his head as he finishing tying his boot. No more endless thoughts or lifelong dreams at the moment, he instead decides to focus on work.

Be professional, not personal.

Even if his work is a family business, it’s still best to not mix the two.

Finally, ready to head out for the day Sehun stands, grabbing his hat and keys before stepping outside. The wind welcomes him as he hurries towards the work shed saying hello and almost blowing his hat across the field. 

He laughs at the thought of running after a flimsy straw hat before tightening it around his chin. One could never be too safe and sure of mother nature.

After another moment Sehun finally turns into the storage shed to start his day.

\--

Sehun flops down onto the grass and lays back on the green pasture. He takes off his flimsy hat and then his gloves, one at a time, as he looks up the sky confused at the lack of rain.

This morning he was sure that it was going to rain and yet it still hasn’t. He even checked his weather app and it too said the same thing he was thinking. The storm tracker didn’t even show any storms on the map so maybe it wouldn’t be a storm and maybe a quick sun shower.

Now it’s a little past noon and still no rain.

Maybe the thunder he heard earlier took a quick left out to sea and decided to make his job even more harder, since now he’d have to water the fields.

Watering the fields isn’t hard work, but his family has been doing most of the watering by hand since they never really had funds for an irrigation system. Instead they have a really long hose and several strategic sprinkler systems. However, with the recent influx of funds though the shop the newer methods of watering might just become a reality and save him a ton of time.

Sehun sighs at the thought of hand watering and drapes an arm across his face to cover his eyes from the strong rays of the sun. He’s tired and sweating from wearing jeans as compared to shorts. He’s pretty sure the sunblock he’s applied has also melted off as a protest. Not to mention that he’s almost a hundred percent positive that he’s already drunk three water bottles, possibly four.

The best part though is that he’s almost done tending to the fields, that is if it rains. 

There hasn’t been much to do since he’s been out here for the past few days, regardless though he’s been cleaning and gathering anything he might have missed or anything that could cause problems in a storm. If not cleaning, then he’ll get a jumpstart on sorting the produce out in the greenhouse alongside tending to the smaller plants inside the house. If that’s all set, then he’ll head on over to the bakery and start making some more tarts and muffins to wind down.

Or whatever sells in early August.

Maybe some fruity pies? Or a couple chocolate strawberry covered cheesecakes?

The thought alone of heading back inside, and possibly get the chance to shower and rid himself of all the sweat and dirt, before going to bake his worries away sounds absolutely perfect.

So, after another moment of laying back and taking a minute to breathe, he sits up. After yawning quickly and doing a quick arm stretch, Sehun stands, heading back over to the newer apple and tangerine orchards planted earlier in the season to finish throwing away some of the loose branches and excess leaves.

Despite wanting to stay and stare up at the clouds some more, loosing himself to his dreams and once again abandoning reality, he really just wants to get his work done and go inside. Even if the inside is not air conditioned it’s better than standing out in the sun for hours and hours on end.

Now it just has to rain and not the humid type of rain. No instead he wants the refreashing type of rain that leaves it’s the smell of sea salt heavy in the air and brings up that wonderful smell when rain hits asphalt.

As Sehun finally approaches the trees he decides to wait another half hour and if it still hasn’t rained then he’ll check the weather once again. Only then will he really decide to water the plants or let mother nature do it themselves.

Sehun has his hat tied along with a single glove on and is struggling to get the other on, walking into the trees with purpose, when he suddenly turns his head towards the house.

Someone is calling his name.

Or something similar to his name.

It sounds so funky to think that when he’s all the way over here and there’s a chance that someone’s all the way across the field. However, it’s his name and honestly he’s used to being yelled at across long distances in his household. At this point he wouldn’t be surprised if he had some super power related to his impressive hearing. 

So he waits a moment, standing at the entrance of the orchard, genuinely curious to see if he’s right or if the wind is merely playing tricks on him. In that short amount of time he wonders who would be calling out for him and worries that it’s one of his parents.

If one of them got hurt though they’d text him or at least give the house a call. Sehun snaps out of thinking about the worst case scenario and cranes his head to listen to see if he can hear anything.

However, he hears nothing and with his decision made he steps into the trees, heading to where the other large bundle of sticks he left before his very short lived nap sits. Then as he’s picking up the sticks he hears it again.

It’s faint, but there and he’s almost sure it’s not the wind since the voice calling his name sounds familiar. Not to familiar, but he’s sure he’s heard this voice before.

“I swear I’m not crazy!” Sehun shouts to the trees as if he can feel all their judgmental stares pinning him down and practically calling him crazy with their metaphorical eyes. His curiosity begins to peak and he feels an odd sense of needing to prove himself. That and he needs to really figure out what the incessant noise and calling of his name is.

Is it the wind or is it some random townsfolk looking for him? Or could it really be his parents looking for him? 

So he grabs the bundle of sticks, throwing them over his shoulder, and heads back out the trees. Sure enough the noise becomes instantly clearer as he exits the trees.

“Saehan!”

“Saehan?” Sehun asks to no one and yet at the same time is asking the person who clearly called his name out. Or at least a really bad attempt at his name. He hears it once more a bit closer this time before a familiar face pops up a couple hundred feet away, accompanying the very familiar voice.

“Junmyeon?” Sehun mutters as he drops the sticks into the pile of other debris, watching as the other man continues to look around the field hopelessly. Though honestly he’s genuinely surprised to see the other out here.

The last time they saw each other was a couple weeks ago and even then their meeting was short lived. Despite that Sehun remembers a good chunk of the conversation between him and the other.

He remembers how open Junmyeon was and how oversharing the other was. He acted like the bakery was a bar of some sorts, expressing his woes and looking for anyone to listen.

Kim Junmyeon seems to be a stereotypical sad and lonely business owner just looking for a friend. Or so he assumes based off their first meeting and the small conversation they managed to barely hold.

“Saehan!”

Sehun snaps out of his thoughts as he hears his so called ‘name’ being called once again. Though this time it seems as if Kim Junmyeon has finally manage to spot him.

He watches as the other waves enthusiastically and seems to run even faster if possible. Sehun even forgets about correcting him as he watches how happy the CEO seems despite his over the top attire and the heat.

“Saeh-”

“ _Sehun_.”

“Sehun.” Junmyeon repeats, smiling wide and even offering a sheepish sorry at the initial mispronunciation. It throws him off though since even he has the decency to remember the CEO’s name. But maybe Kim Junmyeon’s a busy man and or maybe he has the tendency to forget sometimes, regardless he forgot that’s the main point. “I hae been looking for you everywhere! Like literally everywhere that I can think of in this small town.”

Sehun doubts that, but doesn’t voice it out and instead watches as the other falls back onto the field with an exhausted oomph. He practically cringes at the action and hopes that the other doesn’t notice his response.

“Won’t your suit get dirty like that?”

“This?” Junmyeon asks, lifting up the coat of his three-piece suit like it was a t-shirt that cost five thousand won instead of a couple hundred thousand won. The CEO waves his hand as if telling Sehun to not worry about it and it honestly does nothing to help. “It’s not that can’t be sewn and or dry cleaned. Trust me those people work wonders, like mini cleaning fairies.”

“Right.” Sehun is still skeptical of that thought and honestly has no doubt that Ms. Park could make it happen, but would the other drycleaners the CEO typically goes to do the same?

Possibly.

Not to mention would Ms. Park be a cleaning fairy or just a fairy godmother in disguise as a cleaning fairy?

Probably neither.

After a moment of thought and silent contemplation Sehun comes to a self made conclusion. Ms. Park is definitely a famous and impressive witch in the body of an old woman. No doubts and no other opinions are wanted or needed. His decision is final.

“Sit.” The other boys tone is still labored and Sehun begins to wonder if he really did run around town. Junmyeon pats the spot beside him as if he could sense Sehun’s indecision, not even bothering to look up from where he seems to be staring at the ever so darkening clouds.

“I’m working.” Sehun declares with no shame.

Part of that is true and part of it is false, since he really only has to water plants and then he’s done. But if it rains he’s technically done with work and therefore able to sit down for a moment. Honestly though what Kim Junmyeon doesn’t know won’t kill him.

“Well then when you’re done working sit.” Junmyeon pats the space beside him again and Sehun rolls his eyes before heading over to the older man. He stands above the other and watches as the alphas eyes meet his.

Junmyeon smiles widely and Sehun shakes his head before sitting reluctantly.

“I’m only sitting because I’m tired.”

Junmyeon holds his hands up in surrender and turns away, but Sehun still manages to hear the chuckle from the other man.

The CEO on the ground beside him is a complete mystery and yet at the same time an open book. He’s like a book written in an unreadable language or a book tucked away on some of the oldest library shelves that only few are willing to read.

Maybe Sehun will be one of those people.

But much like all books at the library they get returned. Maybe he’ll end up buying this book and writing in his story. Maybe.

That is if he can get used to the presence that is Kim Junmyeon.

“So, now that I’m sitting what do you need?” Sehun doesn’t intend for his tone to sound as sharp and harsh as it does, but at the same time he doesn’t regret how it conveys his mood and personality as a whole. He’s tired and really wants to shower not to mention he refuses to be seen as an omega, weaker than himself and controlled by his supposed primordial urges.

“Firstly I want to apologize for making the shop so busy.” Junmyeon slowly sits up so that they’re sitting face to face and bows so far that his head touches the grass. He stays like that for a moment before sitting up and slowly their eyes meet.

Sitting this close to each other Sehun can see the others acne scars and birthmarks, he can even see the lines beneath the others eyes and wrinkles on his forehead. Sehun can see the beauty and hard work that makes Kim Junmyeon infinitely gorgeous.

He won’t lie either, it’s not like the CEO isn’t drop dead gorgeous and the embodiment of what a strong and successful alpha would be like. Like a modern day Greek God of sorts. Of course with the inclusion of a small height problem. Regardless though Junmyeon is an alpha that doesn’t act like an alpha. There’s no flaunting his behavior, wealth, or accomplishments.

The other seems to be simply looking for a friend and someone who will listen, and if needed provide honest real feeling feedback.

Funny enough Sehun has also been told that he’s an omega that doesn’t act like an omega. He’s an honest to god hard worker who strives to please others before himself a majority of the time.

Maybe together they’ll find something worth working for in such common ground.

That is if Junmyeon could even love someone like him. An omega like him.

It’s nothing Sehun wants to get mixed up in either. He doesn’t deny the other being bad looking or rude, it’s just the fact that Sehun has learned to keep his walls up and it’s going to take more than one sweet alpha to get him to change his mind.

Romance and relationships are honestly on the very bottom of his life long to do list and bucket list.

Thinking back to the list temporarily he realizes how harsh it would be to kill Kim Junmyeon and instead deems to hold off on the supposed task until further confirmation of the boys personality.

Sehun he sits up and sighs. The silence has stretched on and is entering that uncomfortable silence zone as he temporarily forgot about the others apology, to lost in his thoughts and the others pecan brown eyes.

“It’s okay.” Sehun calms his voice and keeps his tone friendly, not wanting to scare the other off with his rude remarks. “It’s okay if the shops busy. Honestly you’ve made my parents overjoyed at the success of their business. So for them I’ll forgive you.” He crosses his arms as he draws his knees up to his chest, resting his folded arms on top of his legs.

“Whew,” Sehun hears the other let out a sigh of relief and he looks up again from the grass. “I was worried that I’d get kicked out or worse permanently banned. It would honestly be horrible if I couldn’t try another one of those fruit tarts or try some of the other muffins.”

“You liked them?” Sehun’s tone is surprised and he’s a bit hopeful at the thought of finally hearing some in person positive feedback about his baking.

“Liked them?” Junmyeon laughs and Sehun panics for a moment wondering if he was thinking about something different than the other. “I loved them! They were better than most of the top tier deserts I’ve tried at corporate meetings in Michelin star restaurants.”

“Well damn, I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.” Sehun sits back resting on his palms as he stretches his legs out, feeling more comfortable as his baking gets praise. It really is fairly easy to talk to Kim Junmyeon.

“You made them?” Junmyeon turns to him quickly, seemingly surprised by the fact.

“Well yeah I make most of the stuff inside the bakery. My parents typically tend to the fields while I figure out the recipes, though sometimes we switch like today.”

“Ah so that’s how it works.” Sehun turns to the other questions on the tip of his tongue at how the other supposedly knows about his confusing work schedule. It’s highly unlikely that this is information that can be found out by the rich since it’s a complete family run operation. Junmyeon beat him to it though, answering the questions he had. “I turned up at the shop and asked the people behind the counter about your whereabouts. At first I was really unsure if they’d hand it out, but the woman gladly did and even told me to be super nice to you since you put up walls and get scared.”

Sehun turns away angry at his mother for outing him like that. He knew the moment that she met the CEO that she’d be on her way to playing matchmaker and doing her best to get Sehun in cahoots with Kim Junmyeon.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Junmyeon sounds confused and Sehun laughs at how oblivious the other can be.

“For my mother.” 

“That was your mother?”

“Yeah that’s her.” Sehun picks at the grass as he gives out an annoyed answer, his mother needs to learn boundaries. She may be excited, but it’s no reason to directly out her son.

“Wow she’s-”

“Excessive and overeager.” Sehun finishes for the other, not wanting to hear anyone else make fun of his mother besides him. Even then she really is only overprotective of him.

“I was actually going to say sweet. I kind of wish my mom was like that.” Junmyeon turns to stare back at the sky, as if doing his best to keep composure and not speak out of line. “All my mom seems to care about is money and how my business is doing, it can really be a bit much at points.”

“I can’t say I really understand, when I’ve never experienced something like. As you said my mom is sweet and overbearing since I’m hear only son and furthermore an omega. However, if it makes you feel better I can sympathize with you for a moment.”

“How about we sympathize together some other time this weekend? I have a meeting in a little bit.” Junmyeon turns to him sincerity in his tone as the conversation seemingly shifts from talking about overbearing parents to themselves who seemingly have too many problems and worries that people their age shouldn’t.

Maybe the other can read the confusion on Sehuns face because he continues after a moment.

“Well there’s an art fair happening a couple of towns over and I really want to check it out. I’ve been trying to find the perfect piece of art for my living room walls. Something unique and not store bought, something different. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah I guess.” Sehun nods as he earnestly comes up with an idealized version of painting in his head. “Good luck, I hope you manage to find it and pick a good one because a living room makes the home a home.”

“I promise I will.” Junmyeon smiles and Sehun can’t help but mirror the others expression, nudging the other as a small taunt.

“Oh will you now?”

“Yep! It will be personally picked and overseen by you after all.” Sehun knows the second his smile falls as he can practically see Junmyeon do his best to prevent the pieces from falling apart. “That is if you want.” The other adds on quickly and the air grows tense, Sehun swears that it can be cut by a knife or something equally sharp.

“Like a date?”

“Only if you want it to be. It can be a simple outing between friends or we could get to know each other more.” Junmyeon finally turns to face him and grabs his hands gently causing Sehun to flinch nonetheless, but the younger doesn’t pull away. 

Sehun wants to say no. He’ll stand up and walk away from Kim Junmyeon and never hear from the other again, a short late summer friendship put to an end before it can begin.

But honestly he wants to say yes. After all what does he have to loose. Not to mention Kim Junmyeon is perfect in seemingly every way, he makes him forget about all the worries at the moment and takes him to somewhere calm.

Maybe this would be the start to something good.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll go with you.”

“As-” Junmyeon’s tone is nervous and yet ever so curious.

“As a friend.” Sehun can see the others smiles fall and he lets out a small laugh before continuing to speak. “For now, maybe next time I’ll go out with you as a date.” Junmyeon instantly smiles widely and the younger bets that once the other is alone he’ll make a huge fuss over the small proclamation.

“But,” Sehun starts, abruptly cutting off the others mini little internal celebration. “You pick the painting.”

Junmyeon squeezes his hands and smiles even wider, if possible, before pulling him in for an impromptu hug.

“Okay. Anything for you.”

Sehun hugs back after a moment, the others words seeming to strike a part in that isn’t so sure of the others level of commitment. Honestly he feels okay with Junmyeons hugs. Albeit it being a sudden hug and the only hug he’s gotten from the other he doesn’t feel threatened and oddly enough feels safe. It’s warm and he can smell Junmyeons pricey name brand cologne combined with a faint musky scent that makes Kim Junmyeon Kim Junmyeon.

It feels a bit like home.

And that thought alone is frightening and yet at the same time new and electrifying.

Sehun feels the first drops of rain hit his arms and pulls away from the very long hug. He shakes his head at the thoughts that were running through his head as doubts begin to fill his mind. It’s the same doubts and questions he wonders about endlessly.

Would the other still like him even if he knew he was asexual? What happens when they get to that point in their relationship? Would they even get to that point? Will there even be a relationship?

Not to mention why him out of every omega out there, it’s him that Kim Junmyeon is choosing to drag to an art fair, surely someone would be similar to him. He knows that one of the many omegas willing to throw themselves to Junmyeons feet are probably very similar to him.

So why him? 

Is Kim Junmyeon using him as another play thing to throw away once it becomes dull?

Sehun’s pulled out his thoughts by a loud clap of thunder and he stands quickly.

“Come on.” His tone is sharp as he grabs Junmyeons hand and practically drags the other to the tractor. He wants to get out of the storm before the storm brings in the lighting which would just makes things difficult.

The rain picks up as they head back on the crowded tractor and by some miracle the real storm doesn’t start till they’re at the greenhouse. Still the rain is coming down in buckets and seems like it’ll never end.

“I’m so sorry about your suit.” Sehun states as he frantically begins to look for anything to dry it off with. “I knew it was going to downpour, just not at the moment. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, as I said nothing dry cleaning can’t fix.”

“Still, you have a meeting soon.” Sehun’s tone is overly apologetic and he genuinely feels bad. Be it anyone else and he’d tell them to fend for themselves, but this is Junmyeon and Junmyeon has been nothing but nice to him. A little overeager and a bit wonky, but nonetheless kind. “Look if you want send the suit over to Ms. Parks laundromat. Tell her it’s from me and she’ll do dry cleaning for you. It’s across the street from the bakery and I promise I’ll pay for it.”

“Sehun.” Junmyeon takes his hands again and this time Sehun pulls away, he’s had enough hand touching and holding for one day. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it okay.” The CEO pats his head gently before pulling out his phone and sighing. “I got to run Taeyong’s out front, but I’ll send you the details.”

Junmyeon is halfway out the door of the greenhouse when Sehun finally speaks up curiosity and realization hitting him that the other doesn’t have his number.

“How?”

“The dry cleaners! How else!?” Junmyeon shouts with a smile wider than the pacific as he starts to run back out in the rain, his tone way to happy for a man soaked and about to attend a meeting. Better yet he’s a CEO, someone who probably has forty-seven umbrellas stored in a closet somewhere that they’ve completely forgotten about. 

Sehun watches for another moment, mind still thinking about the abundance of umbrellas Kim Junmyeon must have, as the other leaves in the same black car as last time. Once the car is out of view he turns so he’s facing his small pile of soaked berries.

“He said I wouldn’t have to pay for dry cleaning.” He lets out a small laugh as he covers the fruit and prepares to venture outside as well. “What a liar.” Sehun means no malice in his words and after a moment he leaves the small shed with the berries in hand, heading back to his house to follow through with his rainy day plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, Part I!!! 
> 
> I'm so overjoyed to be able to share this story that i've been working on for quite some time now. Any feedback, positive or negative will be taken into consideration. Spill your thoughts if you want and if you don't like the length of the chapters let me and I'll work on possibly shortening them down or something. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading Part I, I hope you continue to stick around with me as I finish writing out the other parts to this long story! Thanks again!  
> \- Awkwarddragons


	3. Part ii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter. At least 22k words, so grab a warm drink and a snack and enjoy!

Sehun curses inwardly as his hip hits the kitchen counter in passing, pain shooting up his side and down his leg as he feels the counter leave a dent in his hip.

In his mind he sees himself being shot out on the battlefield by a very small and powerful tomato, falling dramatically to the ground only to raise a tiny white flag seconds after. Signaling his surrender to the tiny fruit.

Better yet, and somehow unsurprisingly, both of his arms at that exact moment are full of cleaning products. Sehun has outdone his luck and is surprised that he didn’t break something alongside his probably bruised hip. He’s still walking after the slight interruption and unable to make an overly dramatic scene in hopes his mother would take sympathy and do the cleaning instead.

There is a part of him that knows it wouldn’t be right to overwork his mother and yet the thought alone is satisfaction enough for his overworked brain. Even better knowing his luck, in the act of falling down the cleaning supplies would probably explode open upon touching the floor tiles adding insult to a legitimate injury.

Shaking his head and waddling with his arms full, Sehun manages to power walk faster than he’s ever done before in his life to the front counter, quickly setting down all seven cleaning products in the most ungraceful manner with a brief sigh.

The night routine of cleaning hasn’t changed much, but the business has become busier meaning more cleaning and longer hours. Well of sorts and on certain days. But in a short quick summary cleaning is an absolute nightmare after a busy day. 

Sehun stops for a moment to catch his breath and ignore the now evident water stain on his apron from the battle he had with the dishes less than ten minutes prior. He’s almost a hundred percent sure that the water stain has seeped past his apron and directly into his jeans in the most unsightly location possible. 

As he waits a moment more for his breathing to even, he watches quietly as his mother sends off the last customer. From the simple brown fedora to the decked out two piece suit he knows that it’s Mr. Jung, the town newsman.

Or whatever you really call a person who makes newspapers for such a small town. A graphic designer, a journalist, or something else to do with design and words. Maybe he’ll ask the next chance he gets whenever that may be. It might help shed some light on vast world of news print.

Sehun leans on the counter as he continues watching with intent as his mother continues to wave to Mr. Jun, despite the fact that the elder was already in his car and long since gone from the bakery’s line of sight. He can only briefly remember once asking her about why she always acts so nice to these people she only has brief encounters with every other day. He already knows that if he asks the question again that she’ll simply respond by saying that one can never be too nice in a town like this. Just like she always does. 

People tend to rely on people and someday we’ll be the same age as these people relaying on people just like us, just like how we live now.

It was super philosophical the first time he heard the response and he’s surprised that it stuck with him throughout the years. Albeit minor cliché telephone changes in either message context or meaning. Then again his mother would repeat it anytime he asked a question pertaining to a similar idea as if she had the phrase branded behind her eyes.

Maybe she does or maybe it’s a written in small font on her wrist so she can read it anytime to sound smart.

Regardless, the meaning of his mother’s words have only gotten more confusing as he’s gotten older. He first associated the saying with the business needing old people and townies to function. But upon further thought during his twenties post military service, the saying can easily translate to people relying on people. Nothing more, nothing less.

No need to overcomplicate something as simple as a philosophical retelling.

Or at least what he hopes to be a philosophical retelling of a possibly philosophical quote.

Sehun feels his hand slip on the counter nearly bringing his face down into the granite. He quickly snaps out of ignoring his own words and daring to overcomplicate the saying, focusing instead on the small sigh of discontentment and tiredness in his mother’s voice.

His mother’s act has fallen as she shuts the door, locking it quickly and pulling the shades down to cover the windows. Sehun can see the exhaustion in her bones. He can see how her hands shake and how her shoulders drop more so than usual, her pace slowed down by age and absolute exhaustion. If she was facing him he would surely see all the pain and hurt evident on her face and in her eyes.

He’d see the soul of someone who has had their lifelong dream come true maybe a bit too late.

“Maybe it’s time to consider hiring someone else to help?” Sehun states carefully as he picks up the cleaning spray and starts to wipe down the remaining tables. It’s a topic that’s been floating around the shop and their family for sometime since it blew up and he knows how much of a loaded subject the topic is.

After all it is a family business.

“I really don’t want it to come to that Sehun.” His mother’s tone is strained and tired, confirming his suspicions about her mannerisms only moments prior. It’s probably from the numerous times they’ve had this exact conversation around the same time every day they work together. If not, then it’s simply from the long work day and the few rude customers. Those were the customers he was willing to jump over the counter and even threaten with the broom.

Sehun honestly just cares deeply for his mother and wants to return the favor that she does so well. Also known as caring for each other, just like every stereotypical omega out there. It’s cliché and yet why should stereotypes dictate a person.

Stereotypes be dammed in his opinion. Everyone is the same, people simply grow up different and learn different skills. They learn different things from the environment around them and from the society they grow in. Nothing else like second gender, sexuality, race, religion or anything along those lines should be a deciding factor.

It’s unfair and probably the only part of so called politics that Sehun dares get involved in. Not even vocally, but rather silently as if his opinion will reach the ears of others when it’s not spoken.

Sehun stops wiping the table in small circles when the broom handle touches his shoulder. He sets the rag down and turns, finding his mother standing there sweeping. It’s a bit weird and he’s about to brush it off when he hears his mother cough as if daring to start a conversation. Honestly, a part of him is worried. 

“You need to get something from Ms. Park, correct?” His mothers tone is inquisitive and knowing, as if she’s aware of something he’s not. If the question was anymore directed about the man named Kim Junmyeon then he might bring up the obvious shift in conversation, but instead he ignores it altogether. Not wanting to fight and argue. Not wanting to explain and open up about his fears and who he really is.

If his parents want to be stubborn then it’s out of his control. Maybe that’s were he gets it from, the unwillingness to budge regardless of the situation.

“Sehun?” Her voice is a question, light and airy laced with the concern she dawns whenever he seems out of it or mildly upset. Only child privileges according to Jisung.

“Yeah.” Sehun answers quickly and curt, hoping that she wouldn’t mention the CEO at any point. Still an unwavering suspicion nags at him and he has to wonder why she’d ask. “Why?”

He rounds back to the main counter, doing his best to remain nonchalant, and starts the cleaning there as his mother approaches, rolling her eyes as if the answer was that obvious.

“Because I heard Ms. Park mention that you dropped off something very important.” Her answer is simple and from the way she glances briefly to the ground he knows she wants to say more. Instead she sets the broom aside, pulling over the mop instead and setting it aside for after the counters are clean. “Well you can leave now and go get what you need from Ms. Park.” She’s stealing the rag and cleaning spray from his hands before he can object, pushing him towards the back slightly. “Leave early and say hi to Jisung.” His mother’s words are quick and simple, curt and to the point.

“Mom it’s just across the street, not across town.”

“I know, but I think it’d be good for you two to talk. As far as I’m aware you haven’t spoken in some time.”

Sehun wants to object to that. In a small town with so many adults and few children it doesn’t surprise Sehun that he became friends with someone six years younger than him. It’s not like Jisung is a bad person either, just very anxious about seemingly everything. There’s an air of untouched innocence, a child-like innocence where nothing seems wrong with the world.

Jisung Park is Ms. Parks only grandson, a sweet little omega who as aforementioned is an absolute nervous wreck most days. Despite that minor difference and the obvious age difference they get along well.

“Okay. Fine.” Sehun gives up the fight, holding his hands in surrender before taking off his apron and hanging it up. He hurries back out to the front and quickly places a kiss on his mother’s cheek, thanking her for letting him leave early and a small good job today. On the way out of the kitchen he snags the muffin box of the counter, filled earlier in the day with extra blueberry muffins as a gift for cleaning the suit.

It’s the least he can do since the suit looked super expensive when it was dry and more so when it was soaked, meaning that it was probably insane to dry and clean off of any unsightly dirt stains. He just hopes that Ms. Park was able to work her magic and if not then Jisung was able to make it look somewhat decent.

As long as it didn’t come back to him waterlogged and torn he’d live.

Sehun exits the bakery with the door closing behind him with a slam, causing him to cringe slightly from the noise. A part of him wants to check the door and see if there was a reason for it being so loud, but another part of him knows that his mother would probably scold him for not leaving yet.

He looks at the door again, shrugging to himself and muttering about not caring, before jogging over to the dry cleaners across the street. Though once across he mentally makes a note to ask about the door later when he gets home.

Despite the two buildings being close by the town is quiet and the old street lights barely flicker any amber light as he moves through the evening streets. Seeing his town in brief moments where the evening light is just welcoming the day and letting the other resign so that the night can take over, brings about endless nostalgia and other small moments in time which he ran around careless and free from the expectations of society.

When it didn’t matter if he was an omega or asexual. When it didn’t matter that he was a small town farm boy unmarried at twenty-three and still with no family. Society holds high expectations and that was realized during his time serving his country, the criticism and backlash something he can’t ever forget.

As the sky fades from a variety of pinks and purples to a deep indigo he can remember the day in which he helped an old woman into her car and she reminisced about her husband who went to the Korean War. Claiming that a sunset like this is worth a lifetime and so many meanings. It’s what they parted on and what their last moments together were filled with.

The small moments in life leading to one supernova moment that could cause an unprecedented series of events.

In a way Sehun can throw himself into that old woman’s life imagining as he sends his loved one off, wondering if these would be their last moment together. Letting these dark thoughts reside in the back of his mind and be brought about every time he would stare at a sunset just like the one on that day. Fearing that his other half and loved one would see the same sunset in different parts of the world, thinking of each other and what waits for them after the war. Unknowingly he would be right about such dark thoughts that get pushed away to the furthest reaches of his mind.

Sehun remembers apologizing and later on burying a flower in the back garden for the old man and solider he never met. For a life that the old man lost out on the battlefield and the life that changed for the old woman.

A door unlocks and the noise is far from concern as he stares into the evening sky.

“So…” Sehun turns sharply at the sarcastic tone oozing from Jisung’s voice. “Are you going to come in or stand in the street staring at the sky for hours?”

Sehun rolls his eyes and has half the mind to give the other a brief middle finger, but he has a fear that Ms. Park would catch him and hit him with a clothes hanger. He moves out of the street and steps onto the sidewalk, eyes meeting Jisung’s and he wants to scream.

The others eyes are practically gleaming with curiosity surrounding the mystery suit.

He knows it and from being around Jisung all these years he can see how the other is tapping his foot impatiently and how his hand fiddles with the doors lock in anticipation.

Sehun shakes his head in disbelief and can hear the other boy whine in disappointment. Maybe he would say something, there’s no one else to tell after all. Well no one else he’s willing to tell, that would end up opening a can of worms he really doesn’t need at the moment.

Finally, he steps into the shop and proceeds to set the box of goods on the counter, before he’s being forcefully turned around by Jisung. The boy looks excited and almost ecstatic, more so than he did when opening the door.

“Did you have a good day or something?”

“Oh my gosh, shut up!” Jisung hits his arm lightly, pouting and attempting to steel his eyes into something more neutral. Even going to the point of slapping his face lightly in a poor attempt to man up or in this case neutral up. Which honestly sounds weird and overcomplicated the more Sehun thinks about it.

Sehun can only roll his eyes and let out a small laugh at the others antics. In some ways it makes him miss being a teenager. Not that he’d want to go back to being that young and naïve, he just wants the easy life with only school to worry about.

No work problems. No money problems. No problems at all just school work.

Sehun sighs, pushing the muffins aside before hopping onto the counter so that his feet barely touch the tiles.

“Go ahead and ask away!” Sehun shouts falling backwards to dramatize the scenario even further. Surely these questions Jisung has are going to be all innocent and full of wonder, curiosity from pure inexperience. 

“Okay. Okay.” Jisungs tone is excited and from the small shake on the counter Sehun can assume that the boy is right beside him. His point is further proved when the young omega pops his head right above Sehuns, staring into his eyes for answers. “Who owns the suit?”

“Really?” Sehun saw the question coming and for a moment wondered if he should tell the truth. “Alright so let’s start with a couple weeks ago, you know when the CEO showed up.”

“Oh! Oh, I see.” Jisung nudged him and if Sehun was looking then he was sure that the other would be winking not so subtlety in his direction.

“So this CEO shows up and I firstly mistake him as the mailman and then as the secretary.”

“How-”

“Ah! No interrupting, I’m only saying this once as my pride is on the line.” Sehun laughed inwardly at the joke, thinking about his pride was seriously on the line. No one, knew of his asexuality or even of his sexuality in general.

“This is me we’re talking about. I mistook him as the mailman because I was reading and it was just reaching the good part, so why bother looking up for more bills and an occasional letter from that one relative you never knew you had.

But then…the bell rings and as I help him out with his order I keep thinking that he’s a secretary because of how friendly and fancy he looked. Only later when we talked for a bit did I realize that he was in fact the CEO. Just my luck.”

“So the suit’s his?” Jisungs tone was inquisitive and yet excited as he began to hover again and slowly they maneuvered into a more comfortable position in which Sehun is resting his head on the young boy’s lap.

“In short yes. On that topic I brought muffins and a fifty for you guys as a thanks, even if the suit is botched and needs to be burned. A for effort and points for trying.”

“Shh!” Jisung shushes him and he shakes his head. “The suit’s fine, have some faith in my grandma why don’t you.”

“I do! I swear.” Sehun relaxes and wonders for a moment why he’s getting all worried upon thinking about the suit and suit owner. “I guess I’m just nervous.”

“Nervous about what?” Jisung can probably sense as he starts to get worried and distressed because the young omega is soon carding his small hands through Sehuns hair in an easy attempt to calm him down. Of course Sehun is grateful for the gesture and wonders momentarily how much he should tell to Jisung.

Yes, they are friends. However, Jisung is quiet young and Sehun doesn’t want to scare him away. He’s only seventeen and has a bit to learn about the world, a lot of which comes from personal experience and stories that have been heard. Sehun doesn’t want to add onto that list and make the poor boy worried about his own choices. Especially since he is almost positive he’s the king of bad choices or at least in his book, which may be biased then. 

Still he relents, knowing that telling Jisung would be more comfortable than telling his parents. Jisung would probably understand and provide a more childish view on the situation, a greedier and raw perspective with little rational thought. Plus he doesn’t want to open the box of pandora that is his mother, someone who loves the CEO without even knowing his actual name.

Maybe talking it out is what he needs.

“Him.” Sehun knows the word was whispered so he says it again, louder though and more sure of himself. “I’m nervous about him.”

The fingers running through his hair stop momentarily before resuming their ministrations, more hurried as if excited or intrigued. Either that or its cliché Jisung being worried.

“I don’t think you need to be nervous. I think that this is something meant for you.” Jisung hops down from the counter and Sehun sits up from where he lays on the counter, knowing that the other was going to say something important from the sheer amount of times they’ve been around each other. “I think that these _rich folks_ coming to our town is a sign from some higher up that this a chance of a lifetime. It’s a gateway of opportunities that we wouldn’t normally have as small town kids.” Jisung smiles and gives Sehun an impromptu hug, which he returns after a moment of initial hesitation. “I think it’s a way out of this miserable life.”

The words are selfish and yet something he’s heard from both his parents and fellow townsfolk alike. No one wants to live a small town life, they want to achieve great things and see amazing sights. To travel the world and truly have a purpose and meaning.

To find the one who makes them happy and feel alive.

Sehun nods as the two part from the hug.

Maybe these are the words he needs to hear.

“Now not to be the bearer of bad news but it’s getting late and I’m starving. Let’s get that suit and then you can head home.”

Sometimes it boggles his mind that Jisung is younger than him when he acts mature. Maybe Jisung knows that it what he’s looking to hear. An honest, selfish, and true as day opinion.

“Jisung.” Sehun finally hops off the counter, seemingly resolved with his self deemed minor inner conflict. “Thank you for all of _this_. Do you want to come over for dinner?” Sehun can feel the hesitation from the younger and quickly backs up his question. “I feel like I ranted enough about me for a decade, I wanna hear how your life’s been going.”

“No need for excuses Sehun there’s no way I’d turn down one of your dad’s _amazing_ homemade meals.” Jisung accentuates the word amazing with a small bit of flair before disappearing into the back of the store most likely to grab the suit.

When he reappears sure enough the suit is in his hands, appearing to be brand new and spotlessly clean.

“Wow.” Sehun reaches out to touch the suit, but stops himself halfway there instead shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Looks good, doesn’t it.” The question is rhetorical and still Sehun finds himself nodding along. “Good. I’m going to run these muffins up to my grandma, I’ll be right back.” Jisung sets the suit down on the counter before dashing up to the apartment on the next floor with the blueberry muffins and money in hand.

While the other is gone Sehun stares at the suit, it’s small and maybe average size. Thoughts of Junmyeon fill his mind as he stares at the suit and he has to wonder what the other sees in him that makes him want to get close.

There’s no doubt in his mind that the other might be a bit infatuated. Hell the last time they met he asked him out on a date to which he rerouted to the safe route and made it a friendly outing. That’s only after meeting a total of two times, isn’t that rushing things?

Was it even really two meetings though, if they met once in one day and hung out with each other for less than half an hour one afternoon? 

However, a part of Sehun can’t deny that the other has this air about him that draws him in and even he was a bit curious upon meeting Junmyeon. His brain pulled him away from what his heart wants though and is being the only rationale aspect between the two.

“All set?” Jisungs voice carries down from the stairs and Sehun breaks out from staring at the suit with laser eyes almost asking and hoping that some questions would be answered. Of course he’s not even sure what questions he’d ask first if given the chance.

Maybe he’d play it safe and start with why Kim Junmyeon keeps talking to him.

Or how long the other will stay around this small town.

“Alright let’s go _lover boy_.” Jisung smirks and Sehun rolls his eyes, not daring to playfully slap the competitive boy. It would surely result in something that would call attention to Ms. Park and that’s the last person he wants to upset.

“Just you wait until you get someone who’s all over you.” Sehun jokes as they round the back of the shop and hop onto Jisungs scooter. He’s not allowed to drive it yet, but he still does since it’s a small town and no one honestly cares as long as it’s not a toddler driving around.

He takes the helmet handed to him and places it on his head, the straps seemingly longer than normal.

“That’s weird.” Sehun takes off the scooter helmet and makes the necessary size adjustments so it fits to his head. “No one else rides this scooter with you beside me.”

Jisung stays quiet and Sehun can see the others shoulders flinch, it’s so quick and easy to miss if you weren’t used to all the nervous mannerisms that made Park Jisung unique.

“Maybe you have someone special?”

“ _No_!” Jisung’s response is quick and the boy even turns around to face Sehun as if objecting even further to the small claim. Of course it simply makes the other appear guiltier and both of them know that, so Jisung simply turns back and starts the small scooter. “Don’t say anything. I’ll tell you all about it when we get to your house.”

“You better.” Sehun’s tone is teasing and he worries about it being to harsh, so after a moment he adds onto his words to seem more playful. “After all I spilled about my problems, it’s only fair to listen to yours.”

Jisung sits back, breathing out into the night air, and Sehun wraps his arms around the other, purely on instinct. In a mere moment they take off leaving the small laundomat and bakery behind them as they go through the small streets towards the living area of their small town.

Sehun dreams at points that together they can ride off to somewhere they don’t know and somewhere we’re new opportunities await them. Maybe they’d end up in a world where they’re famous and known around the world. Or maybe a world where they’re at the top of companies, sitting in the skyscrapers watching the city below.

Maybe, maybe only then, in those vastly odd and diverse scenarios can they could both be truly happy or at least pretend to be. Wear a mask to hide who they really are and to act as if everything is okay just like they do now. Ignoring the reality and living a lie in some sense, too focused on the what ifs to truly dwell on the now. Too caught up in the future to dare think about reality.

Maybe by putting aside their pride and dreams they can achieve a sense of pure happiness.

Sehun sighs and he hugs the younger tighter as the night air moves around them and the country stays quiet. Crickets and the occasional alley cat fill the air with their songs. The stars scatter across the sky in a beautiful array, spelling out stories older than them.

All these small moments and small things say that it’ll be okay and things will get better.

Maybe. Maybe for once they’re right.

Maybe for once Sehun should listen to his heart. 

\--

Sehun doesn’t even have a single foot in the door when his mother appears from around the corner, whisking up the mini Ms. Park in a seemingly tight hug. It’s no surprise when the boy is pretty much like a second son to her or so he’s been told.

The moment drags on longer than Sehun initially thought it would and so he takes a moment and hides the suit behind his back while his mother is still distracted. He’s altogether ignoring the small taps on his arm from Jisungs hands by that point. The other boy is clearly begging for help from his so called eccentric mother when in reality she’s just excited.

Sehun ignores the small request for assistance from his friend and instead slips off his shoes, quickly formulating a plan to get the suit into his closet without his parents noticing. It’s not his dad he’s worried about but rather his mother. That woman can be desperate to play matchmaker, especially when it involves her only son. Sehun chalks it up to the way too many foreign dramas she’s seen.

As the two continue to hug and his father enters the room, so the greetings continue on he wonders if he should hum a cliché theme song to accentuate his sneakiness. Maybe it would help evoke an aesthetic for his plan. Knowing him though it would only end up making him look stupid or like an absolute lost cause. 

Probably the latter.

Sehun hears the quiet mutters of introductions and long overdue hellos between Jisung and his father as he slips on the required slippers, the plan in his head fully ready to test out.

It’s nice to know that both of his parents still care for Jisung, despite him rarely seeing the young boy leave the Laundromat now a-days. It’s no secret among the town that Ms. Park is getting old, not old old but a least she’s not as fast as she used to be. 

The attention quickly turns to him though as he starts to walk up the stairs. The goal is the first room to the right of the stairs, his room, and it seems that he’s already failed based off his mother’s inquisitive stare boring holes into the back of his head.

She points towards the suit he holds and he lifts it up for her to see. A part of him hopes that if she was to say anything she would say it now so he wouldn’t have to hear about it later. Unfortunately, though she simply gives him a thumbs up accompanied with a wink. The three taps on her wrist signifying that they’ll talk about it later.

“Hurry up and hang that in the closet. I’ll have Jisung help me set the table and maybe we can catch up.” His mom has a sweet tone and for once there’s not a hint of teasing surrounding this obvious mystery suit and its wearer.

As he ascends the stairs a part of him hopes that his mother forgets about the seemingly promised discussion. Knowing her though it’s unlikely and he really doesn’t want to come off as rude to his mother who only wants the best.

Sehun sighs as his mind battles all the possible outcomes, each choice leading to another choice which could in turn play a huge role in the grand scheme of things known as his life.

It’s like two paths lay before him both shrouded in fog and mystery. Each path with their manners to entice the unknowing and convince him that this is the way. The way to happiness. The way to purpose.

The suit slips from his hands as he starts to zone out and thankfully Sehun manages to catch it at last minute. Reflexes kicking in as he hurriedly dusts the suit off, placing it in his closet away from everything else. Away from all the less expensive clothes and such.

Seeing the suit makes him wonder for a moment what role Junmyeon plays in his life and how each of his choices would inflict his impending future. How each decision of his no matter the weight would end up leading him to the end goal of perceived happiness or failure. Two different sides of the coins with drastically varying ways of life.

“Sehun!” His mothers voice is irritated, he has to wonder how long he’s been staring at Mr. Kim’s suit and spacing out. Thinking about the infinite possibilities the future hold and how he’s the one with all the decision cards laid out before him. The cards are waiting for him to reach out and choose.

For now, he knows he’ll leave the suit in his closet and wait to hand it off to Kim Junmyeon. The first chance Sehun gets he’ll toss the suit, carefully because it’s expensive. But only then, after the whole suit debacle is over, will he really start to worry about the small details and the weight of his every decision.

As of now though he’s dying to catch up with Jisung, learn how the boys been doing. Not to mention figure out who exactly messed up the chin strap on his scooter helmet and smelled like a beta when he knows no betas their age in this small town. Or at least no more betas their age, the ones that did live here have long since left. Unless…

Sehun shakes his head from the senseless thought, though it really makes sense and in way would solve the helmet confusion. He’d figure out this mystery even it means tickling Jisung to death to get the desired information. Maybe then he can learn the truth and have a chance to confirm his suspicions.

\--

Sehun rolls over on his bed so he’s not facing the wall when he hears the shower stop running. Jisung is sure to be another minute and until then he’s catching up on all the needed sleep that he can get. He knows that he won’t be getting any sleep with Jisung staying over. Surely they’ll be gossiping till sunrise about everything and anything. That or watching some old school movies and binging on whatever snacks they can find. Even then though the chance that Jisung would actually sit through the whole movie without making a peep is unlikely.

From boys they’ve seen or even cool rocks they found by the beach two towns over. They share everything or at least try to. Once Jisung even found a small rock that looked like the former high school principal. With a little bit of paint and effort the rock really did end up resembling the principal, they even went through the effort of giving it to the man only be turned away. Later they took a bike ride down to the beach and threw the damn rock into the water, cursing at it and the high school principal for no reason. 

It’s the small moments they share together from causing trouble to just enjoying their teenage and young adult years. Of course the time that they spend together has decreased by a considerable amount due to school and family business work. Still whenever the chance arises they’ll meet up, or at least try to.

If worst comes down to it they can just communicate like Taylor Swift did in the ‘You Belong to Me’ music video. Using a large sketchpad and sharpies to communicate through the shop windows. Though they do have phones, it’s pricey to hold long calls at such a distance. In the warmer months the doors stay open and they can hold conversations through the empty space.

With both shops being relatively empty there’s a lot more free time or at there least was. Sehun really does hope that this craze about his family’s bakery dies down to a more moderate amount or at least a steady amount.

Jisung starts to hum from the bathroom, an old song that they would sing down at the bowling alley in the town over. In the bowling alley is an arcade with a karaoke machine. They’d always sing the same songs, attempting to beat each other and their prior scores in hopes of earning that desired hundred.

They never did though and that was years ago, before Sehun entered the military and shortly after Jisung finished grade school. It was times when their only worries were school and the weight of the grades that would practically hold the key to their future.

It’s sentimental and sad as Sehun can remember all those times in which he had hit a point of feeling lost and lonely. Now only to be in the same position of sorts, just older and better hiding what he’s been feeling.

The sink starts up and Sehun can practically see Jisung washing his face despite being in the shower mere moments prior. The younger omega has only been peculiar about his looks and it’s no surprise that nothing has changed in those few years Sehun was in the military. 

Jisung can get talkative and Sehun really wants to know how the others been, not to mention if anything odd has happened in town. The boy and his grandmother are almost always the first to know anything suspicious or off in their small town. It feels at points as if the laundromat is the local news resort for the latest topic of discussion among the aunts and uncles in the market stalls on main street.

Of course he could always learn the latest news by working out front in the bakery or by simply having a cup of tea with Ms. Park, but works been busy for both of them. If Sehun gets a chance to breathe during his work shift while baking then it’s a bygone blessing and goddamn miracle. Not to mention most of the customers who visit the bakery are from out of town. Meaning that they’re tourists and have no knowledge of the town or its inner workings. Sometimes the customers can provide good intel about what's happening outside their small town, offering Sehun to sit with him as they dote on his fine features.

It’s a bakery not a host club.

Regardless his work limit is surely less than Ms. Parks. Even with the recent influx of customers Ms. Park always has at least one order hanging on the ready to leave rack and two on the new order rack. That woman is one of the strongest Sehun has ever seen. He’s partially sad and partially proud to admit at points that he’s more afraid of Ms. Park than his own mother.

Never anger Ms. Park and never hurt Jisung. Two simple rules that anyone with a brain can understand in their town. Ms. Park is a woman who could make a plastic clothes hanger a weapon if needed, hell even the flimsy dollar calculator could kill someone in her hands. Her old hip and bad knee won’t stop her at all, Sehun can testify to that.

Still it’s surprising and worrisome to see all the lines pouring out of Ms. Parks laundromat every few days. After all Ms. Park may act like a young woman, but everyone knows that Ms. Park is turning seventy-six soon. Meaning that the limitations to her work would be set sooner than she’d like. Even with Jisung there the work is starting to seem like a bit much for a boy who should be looking to colleges and an old woman who should start hiring help for her business.

Sehun has to wonder if Jisung would take over running the laundromat or if some other relative would end up carrying on the business. The thought is intriguing and he knows Jisung will choose the correct answer, he always does.

The topic of inheriting the business leads his mind to wonder for a moment if his own parents would allow him to take over the bakery or if would they hand it off. If they do hand it off, then it’s a whole other problem about who it would go to. It’s a worrisome thought for reasons he can’t seem to pinpoint.

Yet he really has to ask himself is the bakery his dream or simply something he’ll take over due to an overwhelming combination of pride and guilt.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Jisung asks as he falls on top of Sehun, surely crushing the older boy’s ribs in the process. If the younger had the desire to snap him out of his thoughts and from successfully falling asleep from an infinite loop of thoughts then he has to admit the goal has been achieved.

Sehun whines as droplets of water fall on his face, even a soapy drop getting into his eye. Jisungs hair is clearly still wet and his eye now feels like its burning. He stops the burning by blinking and then rubbing his eye with his sleeve quite harshly.

A part of him knows that his eyes must look odd as one has to be bright red.

Jisung confirms his suspicions a moment later as the younger turns away after meeting his eyes, clearly holding in a laugh. 

“Things.” Sehun responds through gritted teeth as he pushes Jisung off of him quite forcefully and onto the rug covered floor. The frustration of his eye and the crack his ribs make as he moves lightly propelling the anger running through him. He can hear a loud thud before a groan of pain starts up from where Jisung is presumably lumped on the floor.

It takes another minute or so before Sehun sighs and moves to the floor to sit near Jisung. Any remaining feelings of anger leaving him as he moves slowly, propping himself against his bed. Jisung on the other hand untangles himself from the pile on the floor before proceeding to lie down in a way that most would describe as uncomfortable. Still the boy clutches onto his pillow under his chest and surveys the room with eyes that seem to search for something.

Something specific.

The air is palpable as silence fills the room, faint sounds of his parents cleaning after dinner can be heard downstairs. Sehun doesn’t know where to start and only knows that they need to catch up, reminiscence on what has happened since they last met a few weeks before the CEO showed up.

“So-”

“Want to-”

They speak at the time before stopping and staring at each other with eyes that tell the other to go first. It’s an endless loop and doesn’t stop until Sehun shoves the other boy lightly, needing to get an answer to the seeming question at any cost. Jisung whines and hits him the pillow.

Still Sehun nods enthusiastically waving a hand to urge the other on even after Jisung gives him an uncertain look. If the younger boy before him doesn’t start to talk he’s going to go over there and tickle the boy to death.

Thankfully Jisung nods slowly, looking away quickly as his face tinges with a hint of red from embarrassment. Sehun can feel a shiver of displeasure run up his spine at the sight, his hands starting to shake as he wants to move over and hug the younger omega.

“I was just going to ask if you want to build a pillow fort. I know for sure that we can’t share your bed and was wondering if you would want to share a space on the floor.” Jisung rattles off excuses and Sehun doesn’t need to notice the others nervous ticks to feel the worry radiating off the boy. It has been a tad stressful lately and nothing works better as a cure than an omega cuddle session.

Even if it isn’t what the younger is suggesting Sehun is still going to attempt to get some soothing hugs to ease his brain into a sense of safety. It’s not what he would initially imagine Jisung to want to do, but nonetheless he knows that it’s a smart idea.

It feels like he’s lying to himself when he knows that agreeing to what the younger suggests simply is his way of coping with the amounting stress lately. Anything beats exploding and having a mental breakdown for the most pointless reasons. The thought alone scares him, mental breakdowns weren’t fun and didn’t mean good things.

It means weeks of rebounding and months of telling yourself it’s going to be okay.

Jisung nudges him and shoots him a questioning look, eyebrow raising higher than should be possible. It gets a laugh out of Sehun and he quickly works on composing himself so he’s not sounding like he heard the funniest joke this year or was letting his thoughts spiral into a downwards direction. Doing all these low-key psycho mannerisms while still ignoring Jisung’s question. 

“Hell yeah!” Sehun speaks, tone still shaky with laughter and his thoughts, as he quickly stands with a shout, cringing at the thought of his mother hearing him. He doesn’t need her to yell at him for foolish things such as cursing or even shouting, that would really be weird around Jisung. After all he is older than the other by a good five or so years. Still they’ve known each other for a long time and maybe Sehun is blowing the whole situation out of proportion. Like he normally does.

Jisung joins him a second later, mimicking his enthusiasm and standing beside him. The younger boy unknowingly shakes off his worries in the easiest manner. It’s the little things that Jisung chooses to do that hold the biggest impact.

Together they move objects around the room in a manner that would allow for the most space to talk about everything and anything. Not to mention the best construction of a fort that would surely hold over night without suffocating them in the middle of the night.

Sehun takes a moment and runs down to the blanket closet, grabbing a few of the spare blankets and pillows. He hands them off to Jisung as he gets back, the younger boy having taken upon the role of fort design and execution since he left on the blanket mission.

He watches quietly as Jisung moves quickly and efficiently. If he asks for anything Sehun will get it, but other than that he’ll be sure to stay out of the way. The only thing worse than a nervous Jisung would be an irritated Jisung, which thinking about it is probably something he got from Ms. Park.

No scratch that it’s surely something he got from Ms. Park.

When Jisung turns and gives him a thumbs up he hurries to get the guest futon from his dresser, setting it up on the floor underneath the draped blankets and throwing in a decent amount of pillows. Together they throw in a more than enough blankets for a late August evening and even a couple of stuffed animals that sit on Sehuns windowsill overlooking the fields.

Working in tandem they give the little make shift nest a once over before deeming it okay. Sehun nods to convey his approval and even offers a thumbs up. Jisung shoves him lightly as a response as the boy’s ear turn a bright shade of red, clearly pleased and practically thrumming with ease. 

“Let’s brush our teeth and then I need to hear about what’s been happening in your life.” Sehun states, ruffling the shorter boy’s hair briefly, before dragging the other boy with him to the bathroom. They brush their teeth and mock each other in a way that they know is only meant as teasing, almost holding a race to see who can get back to the bedroom first.

As they hurry back Sehun stops, murmuring a quick goodnight in front of his parent’s room. Earlier he saw them come up and if anything his father was surely asleep already. Unsurprisingly Jisung joins him saying a small blessing wishing well sleep.

Quickly he assures that all of the lights in the house are off before hurrying back to his room and into the pillow fort. Of course his light was also turned off though a flashlight lies under the blanket besides the fort if needed.

Sehun collapses on a pillow and nearly squashes a rabbit stuffed animal in the process. Jisung joins him a moment later as they move to their respect sides of the futon, both lying in a way that allows them to face each other.

Nothing is romantic about the situation, it’s purely platonic. In ways it’s a silent agreement between them, no romantic feelings and no sharing anything too overly x-rated. Though the latter is rarely brought up since Jisung is still underage. Regardless Sehun doesn’t know what the other does in his spare time and upon thinking about it for even a moment he decides he doesn’t want to know.

Instead Sehun watches as the boy makes himself comfy and cozy in his hedgehog patterned pajamas before speaking up. His head moves to lean on his hand as he props himself on his left elbow, facing Jisung with questioning eyes. The moonlight filtering through the window providing just enough light so that they can see each other. Other light pours in from above with the glow in the dark stars and small fake candle Sehun set up in hopes of creating another light source.

If it’s needed he’s sure that he can dig around and find the flashlight somewhere under his bed.

“So are you starting to look at colleges?” Sehun relaxes and stops fiddling with his fingers, instead watching the boy before him to see how he takes to his questions. Any pain or any sign of negative reactions and Sehun would move to back off.

“Well about that.” Jisungs voice has a playful lilt to it as if he’s about to spew out something nearly unbelievable. “So you asked earlier about the helmet and I guess in ways it does intertwine with your story earlier.” Jisung scoots closer as Sehun attempts to piece together their lives, more specifically what exactly they have in common these past weeks. 

“Let’s start a couple weeks ago, you know when the CEO showed up.” Jisung mocks his tone from earlier and lets out a small laugh before continuing. “Well with the CEO came Lee Taeyong, his secretary and right hand man, more commonly known as Mr. Lee.” Jisung describes Taeyong in a way as if they both don’t know him and maybe that’s true for the younger, but Sehun knows him. Still he doesn’t want to distract from the story and listens as Jisung pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Well this Mr. Lee saw me one day working at the counter organizing a pile of clothes and just came in to say hello…and offer me a job.”

“That’s great!” Sehuns tone is cheery and he cringes at the high pitched frequency it emits alongside how fast he sits up, nearly taking the fort with him. His stupid beanpole figure getting in the way once again.“I mean it sounds amazing and from what little I’ve see of Mr. Lee he seems to be a great man. Not to mention-”

“Shh! No more interrupting, let me finish speaking.” Jisung pouts through his words and Sehun nods to that, making the motion of zipping his lips and throwing the key to Jisung. The other responds with an eye roll while playing along and pocketing the supposed key.

Sehun doesn’t even bother to speak up and once correct the other by saying that he knows Taeyong. Heck the boy was one year younger than him and was literally in the class below him. Maybe he’ll bring it up later if it truly bugs him. Then again he has to wonder if Taeyong even remembers him.

A playful shove knocks his arm holding his head and he nearly falls, catching himself at last minute. Looking up Sehun finds Jisung pouting with his arms hugging a pillow in a manner that is more cute than angry.

“So as I was saying. This Mr. Lee offered me a job in Seoul to help work in Mr. Kim’s company. He said my role would later be decided, but I’d start off as an all rounder. Meaning designing clothes and putting them out on the market. Better yet it doesn’t have to be right away and instead I could work there after I finish school or my military service. Not to mention he even offered to pay my full ride for college if I go to a school related to Mr. Kim’s line of business.

However, it would mean leaving my grandma all alone to run the laundromat in it’s entirety. We could hire help, but that really only leads to us loosing profit.” Jisung pauses, seemingly wanting to say so much more before continuing with an exasperated sigh. “Overall I’m conflicted and don’t want to miss out on such a seemingly amazing opportunity.”

Sehun sighs deeply before sitting up to reach out and hold he younger omegas hands, running his thumb over the others in hopes to soothe said boy. It works as Jisung melts, his shoulders relaxing and body moving more languidly. Slowly the younger moves close to curl into Sehuns hold.

The air of teasing and games seemingly put on hold as a more serious aura forms around them. A similar air to the one before as they were talking at the laundromat about Sehun and his current predicament.

“I cannot be the judge to tell you how to live your life. I also want you to know that I don’t mean anything mean when I say that you don’t think about yourself. Most times you think about others and worry about them. It’s something so Park Jisung, you know. It’s something so selfless.” Sehun moves his hands to the others thigh and starts to draw shapes in order to distract himself from the pressing matter and how his voice would play a huge role in the youngers decision. He looks down for a moment, formulating his words before continuing. “I think you should do what you want to for once, do what feels right and throw everything to the wind. Hell I’m still here and if needed I can watch over your grandmother. It won’t bother me… You said it earlier, an opportunity like this is a way out of this miserable life.”

Sehun moves slightly so his eyes meet the youngers.

“It’s something you deserve.”

It’s not a lie as Jisung is a workaholic for his family business and goes to school alongside cram school. There’s no time for anything fun or to spend anytime with friends. Every week holds the same routine of school and work or something of the two.

Jisung leans away for a moment and gives Sehun a look of disbelief riddled with worry. 

“What about Mr. CEO?”

Sehun opens his mouth to counter that argument, but closes it as he comes up with nothing. Jisung notices and proceeds to poke him on the chest.

“Exactly!” Each syllable extenuated with a poke.

“Well I don’t like him.” Sehun crosses his arms and turns away, hoping the small display of acting like a stubborn child would sway the younger omega.

“That’s not really what I got from how you were talking about him earlier.” Jisung leans his face into Sehuns line of sight and offers a cheesy wink. The older boy smiles, letting out a brief noise of disbelief at the others persistence before turning back and pushing Jisung back onto the floor.

“Well it doesn’t matter. You said it yourself earlier, these rich folks bring with them a chance of a lifetime. If worse comes to worse you can always come home, there are people here who love you and will accept you with open arms even if you leave to work in Mr. Kim’s company.” Sehuns words convey his feelings louder than he could ever possibly, he only hopes that Jisung is able to see that as well. His thoughts for once not as transparent or holding a double meaning.

The younger boy nods hesitantly before nodding with more sureness.

“I think I’ll take the offer.” Jisung makes the motion of pulling the key from his pocket and handing it back. Sehun takes it and unlocks his lips, despite all the talking he’s done so far. He tosses the key far as the other continues to talk. “Of course I’ll state my terms and hopefully they can work that into the contract.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Sehun smiles wide, offering a thumbs up before doubling it and moving them like jazz hands. Jisung leaps forward and pretends to bite it off. Together they act out a small skit and forget the conversation and its weight, taking care of unnecessary worry and easing them both.

“So that’s why the helmet was sized differently.” Jisung lays down first and stares up at the blankets with a look of longing. “I took him around town and showed him all the good spots.”

“Oh!” Sehuns lips curl in interest at the mention of doing something that would totally occur in a cheesy rom-com. Of course though with Jisung as the lead actor who constantly worries and is seventeen not eighteen.

“No!” Jisung hits him with a pillow causing him to fall backwards and lay like the boy beside him. “I think he’s nice, but not as nice as you make Mr. Kim sound.”

“Excuse me!” Sehun rolls over to face the boy, appalled at the accusation despite knowing that a part of it’s true.

“Don’t excuse me when you know it’s true!”

Sehun picks up his pillow and hits the other boy, starting an all out pillow fight. It ends though when Jisung calls quits after being squished against the futon by Sehun holding a pillow tightly against the younger.

They relax and calm down, the air shiftyingto one with sleepy tones as their conversation continues. Together they talk for a while about everything and anything. From Ms. Parks muffins to the whale sighted off the coast a couple months back.

When Jisung curls close and moves in for cuddling, Sehun opens his arms. The younger boy wastes no time in nuzzling his chest and falling asleep in the crook of his neck. Some would call it intimate, others would either scoff or coo calling them typical omegas all the while.

To Sehun though he finds comfort in the scent of Jisung and how steady the boys heartbeat sounds. The rhythm is paced and Sehun starts to hum to a similar tune, falling asleep as he holds Jisung close by for warmth and comfort. Together they’ll figure things out and life will continue as it always has for them.

Chaotic.

Unpredictable.

Worthwhile.

\--

Sehun is positive that they have orange juice in the fridge. He’s sure of it and yet can’t find it, even if he’s almost halfway into the fridge acting like he’s digging for gold instead of orange juice. Well the two are almost a similar color. Heck he’s even found the apple juice and milk already, just not the damn orange juice.

“Sehun what are you doing?” His mothers tone is questioning and her face is riddled with confusion as he slowly crawls out from the small fridge. She’s not angry though and he can see that in the way the corners of her eyes lift in a smiling manner. If anything she’s probably amused to hell about the situation.

It’s not everyday a parent walks into the kitchen to see their only son practically being devoured by the fridge, all while a small stream of curses and muttered swears in foreign languages pour out of the open door.

The image of himself rummaging through their fridge causes Sehun to stifle a laugh as he closes the door along with taking the remaining milk, giving up on the juice for now.

“I’m looking for the orange juice.” Sehun moves to the small cabinet on the counter and pulls out the cereal box, pouring a decent amount and then the milk. He’s not like the other people who pour the milk first and then the cereal. (Cough. Jisung. Cough.)

“Oh your dad drank the rest of it this morning before heading out.”

Sehun pouts but nods nonetheless, accepting of the situation and seemingly solidified on eating cereal for breakfast. He can only hope Jisung thinks the same. If not then Jisung can swing by the shop and grab a muffin or some similar snack to munch on for breakfast. 

“Okay, thanks mom.”

“No problem.” Her tone is cheery and seemingly filled with nothing but joy at this early hour as she steps beside him, grabbing the milk to put it back. “I’ll pick some up later this week when I go grocery shopping.” Before whisking off to the fridge she ruffles his hair and kisses his temple softly. “Is Jisung still sleeping?”

Sehun grabs a spoon from the drawer while nodding all while shaking his head in an attempt to un-ruffle his already messy morning hair.

“Yep.” He states, once again after hearing nothing from his mom. Sehun takes his bowl and sets it down at his spot on the table, continuing to speak once seated. “Am I going to work up front today or in the back?”

“I was thinking about having you prep the day desserts and around noon time take over for the front. We can work on baking later since tomorrow is a Sunday and we close-”

“Early on Sundays.” Sehun finishes his mother’s words, taking a bite of his cereal and offering a thumbs up. The schedule in short for now meant that he had to eat quickly so he could start making the cookies, muffins, and other assorted goods. “Got it.”

His mother smiles before ruffling his hair once more and parting with a quick wave before leaving to get ready for the day. He doesn’t even bother to fix his hair this time around knowing there’s a good chance it will only get messed up once more.

Finally, alone Sehun leans back in his chair and realistically thinks about how much free time he has before he has to start baking. In his head he can see a map being made only maybe it’s less of a map and more of a timeline. A timeline sounds more appropriate and even has the word time in its name after all.

Sehun shakes his head shaking off the time map and timeline confusion, instead going back to focusing on the big picture and not the tiny details. Most often the bakery’s desserts are made the morning of, but sometimes they’ll make them the night before if time is a prevalent problem. That or if they know it will be busy the following morning.

Like Sunday mornings, which are oddly enough always busy.

Still at best Sehun has sixty minutes to eat and get dressed. Not to mention shower alongside waking up Jisung. Meaning that there was no time to watch an episode of his favorite variety show or that new drama he wanted to check out. Maybe he could scroll around social media and watch a quick video on YouTube to accompany him during breakfast.

Then again would he even have enough time to even watch a video? Let alone screw around on social media.

Probably not, but oh well.

Sehun pulls out his phone and stops suddenly. On the screen is a notification signaling a text from an unknown number. It’s certainly not the first time a situation has happened and it’s not something that isn’t uncommon either. However, it doesn’t happen to Sehun. No one talks to, or in this case messages him, aside from his close family and friends.

Sirens go off in his head as thoughts of watching a short cat video get thrown out the window.

Setting down his spoon Sehun quickly wipes his hands on the napkin nearby before moving to unlock the message and decipher its contents. The number doesn’t look to be one from a scam company or anything of the sort and so he swipes up, unlocking his phone regardless of any danger that may be present.

The message surprises him and he actually sits up straighter, bringing his phone closer as if it will make the message implications any clearer.

**[Saturday; 4:57 AM]**

**From = Unknown Number #1-0719520995:**

_Hello there Mr. Oh Sehun. This is Lee Taeyong, the secretary to Kim Junmyeon. I’m reaching out today to inquire your whereabouts and doings for the day. Mr. Kim has a free day today and from how happy he returns after the short meetings with you, I think it’s fair to say he would enjoy spending the day with you. Now I can’t dictate the schedule and so I’ll say it again._

_Mr. Kim has a free day._

_A. Free. Day._

_Thank you for your time,_

_Lee Taeyong_

**[Saturday; 4:49 AM]**

**From = Unknown Number #1-0719520995:**

_:) :) :)_

_I forgot to include his number._

_#1-5229141294_

_Thanks again,_

_Lee Taeyong_

Sehun rereads the message a few more times, doing his best to comprehend the situation despite it being right before him.

Junmyeon has a free day and Taeyong has thrown out the suggestion for him to take the bait. Or did it mean that Junmyeon is waiting for his text, a light in the dark to help him find something to do today other than important CEO work.

Or not since the other has a free day.

Sehun places his head in his hands and whines a bit, stomping the floor in his mind muddled frustration.

His brain supplies him images of Junmyeon sitting down on his ritzy hotel balcony morning coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, waiting for Sehun to whisk him away.

Sehun can’t think straight though and knows that making an irrational, not to mention spontaneous, answer could lead to problems.

Permanent and life changing problems that could be good or bad. It’s a roulette wheel with two choices and many possibilities. Fortunately, Sehun isn’t a gambler for chances. He sticks to schedules to lead his life and today will be no different.

Well he tries to stick to schedules.

Yet his eyes drift to the text again before taking a peek at his phones clock.

It’s only seven, almost eight. The thought of Junmyeon creeps up his mind and he resigns with a sigh, picking up his spoon as he solidifies his decision.

At most he’ll text the other back in a couple minutes. He’ll respond to Taeyong and then work up the courage to shoot Junmyeon a text. If it comes down to it he’ll just ask Jisung to help him compose a message and if needed he’ll even have the other press send. He’ll deal with the youngers unending questions and worries at a later time.

But first his cereal since he’s on a deadline and has to finish eating soon or else he’ll have to wait until dinner. Hopefully his brain can think while consuming cheerios to help get the gears going and formulate a correct answer to Taeyong’s text. The snack is deemed heart healthy and he can only hope some of that healthy contains answers for the current dilemma at hand.

It doesn’t take more than two bites though before Sehun begins to feel himself loosing confidence as his worries once again take over. His brain implementing that a vision of Junmyeon again only now the other is pouting in a manner that should not be that cute. The little piece from his imagination doesn’t help his worries at all and instead fuels the fire.

Sehun quickly wipes his hands on the napkin again before picking up his phone and setting up a new contact, the name causing more problems than he originally anticipated. He hesitates wondering if he should set the contact as CEO or as the others full name. Maybe that was too formal though, but would the other be upset about him using such a casual contact name?

After a moment of thinking though he simply ends up with a contact name that sounds fitting and can only hope that the other never finds out. It’s not like the other knows his phone password and everyone has contacts in their phone that are personalized.

The thought of personalized contacts leads him to wonder what Junmyeon would save his name as. If it is formal then he’s the one in the wrong with the casual phone contact and-

Sehun slaps his cheeks as he snaps out of the never ending worry circle of proper versus personal phone contacts. Jisungs words from both their conversations the night prior bouncing around in his head like the old Sony logo.

Finally, he steps away from the petty contact name and stares at the blank message screen. His fingers move to start typing as he once again has to formulate a message. He somehow has ended back up at square one of casual or formal. 

“Hi, Junmyeon. No no no no. Way to casual.” Sehun deletes the message quickly watching the small blinking line enticing him to type something. Anything.

“Hello sir.” Sehun speaks sounding out each syllable. He stops though staring the words before back tracking once again. “Nope. No. Definitely no way too formal.”

He leans back thinking deeply, biting his lower lip and leaning further back on the chair. His brain fills with images of Junmyeon smiling and when he remembers the other hugging him he finally moves to type, feeling more composed and oddly relaxed.

Like the text came to him in a vision and is about to send him on a quest to conquer some unforeseen evil.

“Hi there Junmyeon it’s Sehun! I was wondering if you would want to stop by and help out at the shop today.” Sehun can feel his confidence fizzle as he can pictures Junmyeon laughing at the casualness of the message. He adds on a something like that and a couple haha in an attempt to make the message sound before before placing his phone down and calling quits.

“Gosh I must sound so stupid.”

Sure enough the text sounds funky as Sehun reads through it again and again wondering what exactly is the correct approach to texting a friend. He takes a minute and leaves the draft, as it has been the most successful one so far, before jumping back to the conversations between him and Jisung. Hoping that by seeing Jisung’s text messages he would gain an idea about how to text Junmyeon.

The only problem is that Jisung texts in simple lines. One line sentences that cut straight to the point. Which is a problem since texting like such is truly not Sehun’s style. His style of texting feels more chaotic and filled with ramblings as if it will help explain his actions and if needed soften the blow of his text. Kind of like having a conversation with a person overly nervous about their class presentation done last minute on a topic they have no prior knowledge of.

In simple terms his texting style is a disaster in it’s own right.

“Shit.” Sehun sighs at the clear problem that only an introvert with no friends would have before jumping back to Junmyeons conversation.

Only things from bad to worse.

In a single second Sehun’s thumb slips and he watches as the message leaves the drafts forever, eyes going wide and mouth falling open in shock. The message moves up onto the blank screen and ends up being the only message in this new conversation. The message goes from sending, sent, and to a moment later thankfully still not read.

“I fricken hit send!” Sehun’s voice cracks as he stands quickly setting his phone on the table so he can pull at his hair while his brain attempts to figure out some damage control and quick.

It takes a second for the sirens in his head to clear enough so that he can find courage to pick up the phone and attempt to make his message sound better. Only things get worse.

**[Saturday; 7:32 AM]**

**To = Jun:**

_Hi there Junmyeon, it’s Sehun! I was wondering if you would want to stop by and help out at the shop today. Or something like that, hahaha…_

**_Read_ **

Junmyeon has read his message.

Junmyeon has read the nervous wreck message.

Oh no. No, no, no!

The sirens increase in volume and Sehun takes a minute to breathe properly before quickly grabbing his phone in hopes to still lessen the damage.

“Dammit.” Sehun picks up his phone and fumbles as the three words he doesn’t want to see appear.

_Jun is typing…_

Sehun opens his mouth in a silent scream as he moves quicker and hopes that he can soften the blow by sending off a quick sorry about the message and its odd contents. Though it’s too late since not a second later a new message joins the conversation.

**[Saturday; 7:34 AM]**

**From = Jun:**

_Hello Sehun! :)_

_It’s so nice to hear from you on such a lovely day._

_Funny enough my schedule is free today so I will gladly take you up on your offer. I’ll be honest though I’ve never baked before and only worked face to face with customers when I had a convenience store job back in high school._

_I’ll do my best though, fighting!!_

**[Saturday; 7:34 AM]**

**From = Jun:**

_So tell me a time and I’ll be there._

**[Saturday; 7:35 AM]**

**From = Jun:**

_Also what should I wear?_

Sehun lets out a shaky breath before falling into his seat, rubbing his head in an exhausted manner despite only being awake for less than half and hour. He takes another bite of his cereal ignoring the messages and all the thoughts that bombard him as he formulates a response.

This cereal better be heart healthy since he’s pretty sure his just nearly keeled over from emotional overload.

He wants to cry and he wants to shout in joy as Junmyeon didn’t judge him and was actually looking forward to hanging out with him. There was no apprehension and no excuses of other plans. Better yet the other seemed a bit flustered as well, making him feel less worried about his own message pattern.

It’s the first time he would be hanging out with a friend who wasn’t paid or told too. Jisung being an exception from both alongside Taeyong who hung out with him during lunch or group projects.

Junmyeon on the other hand is doing this because he wants to and he actually seems excited to help out. If he’s anything like Sehun then nervous and fumbling over words means excited or downright a nervous wreck. Really there’s no inbetween.

Sehun takes a sip of the milk from his empty cereal bowl and picks up his phone, a response formulating in his head already. No worries or anything of the such holding him back as he takes a few deep breaths.

**[Saturday; 7:36 AM]**

**To = Jun:**

_Something you don’t mind getting a little flour on, maybe bring a change of clothes in case? I’m finishing up breakfast now and I’ll be down at the shop by eight-fifteen. Enter through the back and I’ll let you in. Knock a few times or something similar._

_Don’t worry about your experience level either, I’ll help you._

Sehun finishes his breakfast quickly when his phone beeps again, twice in quick succession. He opens the first message to find a photo of a morning sunset and the second message to find another photo with Junmyeon sitting down on the ritzy hotel chair on the balcony, morning drink in hand while lounging in plaid pajamas.

The first photo is from Junmyeon who has attached a cheesy set of excited emojis alongside one sending out a kiss. It makes butterflies fly in his stomach and Sehun knows he told the other to slow it down while he figures things out, but the thought of this being a regular thing makes him sigh contently. His brain and heart on an overdrive of emotions.

The second photo is from Taeyong, attached alongside a text.

**[Saturday; 7:40 AM]**

**From = Secretary Taeyong:**

_He’s beyond excited and nearly choked on his tea when your message came through. Thank you for making him happy. I thank you and so will all the others who know him._

_You are truly one of a kind Oh Sehun._

_Not much has changed since high school._

Sehun reads the message from Lee Taeyong over and over. He’s at a point between wanting to cry and wanting to laugh. This Taeyong is still the same one he knew as a kid and is most definitely the same one that still tries to push open pull doors.

He finishes up the remainder of his cereal and saves the photo of Junmyeon sent by Taeyong. 

“Heading out I’ll see you at the shop.” His mother whisks by and backtracks when she sees him crying. Mother mode has clearly been engaged as he watches her drop her keys and hurry over. Most likely forgetting all about the shop for a moment. “Hunnie what's wrong?”

Sehun shakes his head as he tries to wonder what is wrong and why he’s crying. It’s almost embarrassing that his mom saw him and yet he knows that it’s better than Jisung catching him. The relentless questions paired with the impending I told you so might be a bit too much for his fragile soul at the moment.

“Absolutely nothing. I’m just so damn happy.”

And for once in Sehuns life those words are true. These are happy tears brought on by the man who is slowly changing his world for the better. The man named Kim Junmyeon and the people he chose to surround himself with.

Sehun can feel his emotions sky rocket at the thought of for once being wanted and being appreciated by someone not in his family or friend circle.

For once someone loves him and is willing to take their chances on him.

His mother ruffles his hair again and presses a quick kiss to his temple as another message comes in from Junmyeon. The name flashing across his screen in a way that his mother surely sees.

When he pulls away from her to check the text he finds a selfie and a cheesy quote that has him laughing through his tears.

And if his mother sees anything then she doesn’t say anything. The quote bouncing around in his head as he can practically picture Junmyeon saying it to him in person and someday he hopes the other does. Maybe like him the other has a fascination with the stars and the vastness of space. An endless amount of possibilities in the grand scheme of things.

The quote fizzles off his tongue in an electrifying manner and yet eases his soul at the same time. It’s contradicting it’s effects, but works nonetheless.

_“‘It is not the stars to hold our destiny but, in ourselves’ William Shakespeare.”_

\--

Sehun gets off Jisungs bike in a manner that is in no way deemed graceful. At least by the textbook definition of graceful. Or any synonym close to it. Maybe clumsy would be a better word for his lack of elegance in the early morning. That or un-graceful…

Nah clumsy sounds better.

Jisung kicks down the bike stand and pulls off his helmet in a model-esque manner. Sehun snaps out of his thoughts over complex terms at the sound of the others helmet buckle clicking and he quickly hands over the helmet while thanking the other for the ride.

He can only hope no one saw him practically fall because of his long legs. Though there is a really good chance his mother saw some of it from the bakery’s sprawling windows. If she does say anything he’ll plead innocence.

They’ll laugh about it later though for sure over dinner, discussing the inns and outs of the day. Somehow no secrets ever stayed secrets in his family, aside from the obviously hidden secret. The secret of sexuality which was placed in an ordinary cardboard box sealed tight with tape in an over excessive manner and then put into a chest which was locked with the highest difficultly level of all the locks out there. Maybe a curse should be cast on the chest in case it is ever open, of course though he’d have to find a spell book. And to be honest summoning Satan isn’t on his to do list. Though it does sound like something a character from Kim Xiumins novels would do, but no way in hell would he want to be a main character. Maybe a secondary character or background character at best.

The fall was definitely a secondary character would do to garner the attention of the main leads love interest. Of course the secondary character never touches the main love interest of the primary character. The secondary character stays with the secondary love interest that is specifically catered to their personality and scenario. More often than not fitting together like puzzle pieces in the overly cliché romantic dramas.

If he was to fall, like he did moments ago, then someone would swoop in an catch him. Though in this case it could be Jisung and no offense to the boy, but there is no chance in hell he would date the younger. 

It’s not like it was his fault he fell either. The ground was closer than usual so who can blame him if he almost broke his nose despite it not even being eight yet. If anything it’s his legs. Sehun looks down at the appendages in question with a suspicious look on his face and only looks up when Jisung laughs loudly, breaking him from onslaught of thoughts.

Of course it doesn’t fully stop until he sees the slow motion of Jisung laughing with bright sparkles around him while his eyes practically crinkle due to the hilarious nature that is his best friend Oh Sehun. Or at least that’s what it seems like. 

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making a reminder.” Sehun shakes his head and makes a mental note to do some stretches or something so his legs wake up. Maybe he can get the blood flowing and get his head out of the clouds. The early morning texts must have made his body and brain turn into mush that even his early morning shower couldn’t fix.

“Okay then, you do that.” Jisungs tone is purely sarcastic and Sehun looks up to sure enough find the boy standing in a pose that oozes sassiness. The other is adorable and so cute, he can’t help but open his arms for a goodbye hug. It’s not really a goodbye though and more of a see you later kind of hug filled with the sincerity of a goodbye hug.

They’re a shop away, but both of them seem to busy quite regularly nowadays. Not to mention Jisung still goes to school and Sehun will work in the fields if needed, so he’s not always across the street baking.

In a way it’s funny. But at the same time it’s sad. Their friendship showing in the simplest form of how life drifts them apart and together again, like an unfair game of tug of war that won’t ever end until one of them pulls too hard or lets go. Be it a choice made out their own free will or not. 

The church bells sound up signaling the turn of the hour and Sehun exhales loudly.

If he doesn’t get into the store soon he’ll surely get lectured and furthermore fall behind on baking. Both would most definitely lead him to get a small tap on the back of his head as a reminder to not be late. He leaves with a wave and stands on the other side of the street, waving still as Jisung smiles on and returns the waves twofold.

“Good luck!” Jisung is quiet as he yells with all his might and drops his hand lazily, letting it fall against his side in a manner that conveys uncertainty. It’s a trait that is Park Jisung, putting up a false front while endlessly worrying on the inside.

“You too!” Sehun shouts with his hands cupping his mouth to make the sound louder. If he had a megaphone he’d be sure to use it. Jisung needs all the encouragement he can get to shake off those pointless worries constantly whispering to him in the quiet hours. “Remember what you told me, take the chance and run with it, don’t you dare look back Park!” He makes eye contact with the boy and quickly does the symbol for fighting to which the other returns. 

Look forward to the future and to the vast what-ifs. Looking back will only distract you from what you are passing by and what will pass by. Don’t get lost in the past and ignore the present and future. Ignore the worries and jump into the unknown.

Metaphorically of course.

The saying came to him as he was leaving and has been repeating in his head as he juggles the variables and considers spinning the roulette wheel. That or picking up the damn wheel and smashing it against the nearest hard object. Breaking the rule of living on chances and opportunities, maybe it would help him decide what to do with Junmyeon as well.

Like an angel parting the clouds the words of wisdom will come to him. He can only hope that someone upstairs doesn’t pull a ‘follow your heart’ type of answer. That is total bullshit and he knows it, heck he could shout out the question to Jisung and the other would most likely agree.

Sehun stops and pulls out the key for the bakery as he does his best to debate whether he should listen to his heart, brain, or gut. In reality though the choice of listening to one’s heart, brain, or gut is really all about scenario. Or at least it would be in most cases. In this current scenario he’s tackling the more rationale approach while his heart is telling him to jump into things blindfolded.

His poor heart seemingly starved for affection and attention. 

The thoughts follow Sehun into the bakery as he sets up the ingredients and starts up the oven for the day. The decision is solidified when he’s pulling out the baking sheets and setting them aside. It really is decision based and for all purposes it will remain as such.

With this small debate settled he begins to hum all the important information like temperature, time, and other small minor key parts that are needed when baking. In a way it’s a helpful reminder. It also takes his mind off of things and allows him to solely focus on work for a second. Just work and not a certain alpha with the most charming brown eyes.

A quick run up front to do an inventory check on the front case has him surveying which baked goods they would need more of. He makes sure double count and even wave to some of the regulars before hurrying back to the office to write all the information down.

“Tarts question mark, a few pies, a couple cheesecakes, cookies, and muffins question mark.” Sehun finishes jotting the list down and tapes it down onto the workbench covered in excess supplies. Here the note wouldn’t be forgotten or get covered in a massive amount of flour again. Meaning he wouldn’t get scolded for making the wrong desserts despite them still selling. Again. 

Then again the chocolate cookies with orange zest were a hit. It’s no surprise either with the richness from the dark chocolate and chocolate chunks mingling with the citrus components of the orange extract. It was amazing and Sehun made sure to jot the recipe down for later use when his family actually began to sell oranges.

In the end though it really comes down to ingredient usage and keeping tabs on what they have along with what they don’t have. He’s sure that if they were to run out of muffin ingredients, which in itself is unlikely, then Ms. Park will hurry over with that extra cup of sugar for the topping.

No one gets between Ms. Park and the muffins, not even fate themselves. That woman is persistent about the muffins and in several ways it is purely endearing to see her care about something so much knowing how much she’s gone through the past years. Not to mention her memory fading lately and how it hurts to see her forget about her late wife. The two were something back in the sixties, breaking the mold and setting new records for lesbians worldwide. Or something like that, since Jisung described everything from his grandmother’s life in a grand manner.

Sehun quickly looks around the shop once and after a moment of contemplation, calculating prep time and bake time. Numbers flash before his eyes as he figures out the best plan of action, before moving to start the cheesecakes and pies. Both desserts would take the longest and if not sold today then they would be sold tomorrow.

Refrigeration and freezing work wonders on desserts in such situations.

Sehun is so lost in his thoughts and minor math calculations that he doesn’t hear the knock on the back door until it’s done once more, louder this time and followed by the door creaking loudly.

“Sehun?”

“Junmyeon?” Sehuns tone is uncertain as he turns to find the other coming through the back door in a sheepish and shy manner. For once the other seems nervous and apprehensive not all confident like before. Nothing like the aloof alpha he’s seen fall down the grass with not a care in the world about the pricey suit he was wearing. Sehun has to wonder momentarily if something happened to the over in the few days they haven’t seen each other.

“Oh whew. I thought I was at the wrong place.” Junmyeon wipes his forehead and lets out an exaggerated sigh before laughing quietly. “I mean I know I was here before, but gosh my memory is horrible.” The man laughs, an obvious attempt at easing the tense air around them. Sehun watches the other sigh, shaking his head whilst giggling. “So is my outfit okay?”

Junmyeon approaches before outstretching his arms and spinning around a few times, mainly showing off his plain gray shirt with a small rabbit on the pocket over his chest. The other is also wearing a pair of dark blue jean shorts that stop at his knees. The outfit is clearly finished off by a pair of brand name sneakers Sehun couldn’t name if his life was on the line and a pair of sunglasses that probably cost more than the entire bakery. It’s very evident that the alpha has expertise in fashion or at least knows his way around a very expensive closet.

Then again he does run a fashion company.

Sehun rolls his eyes at himself and stifles a laugh for feeling momentarily stupid.

Junmyeon raises his eyebrows and does another spin as Sehun continues to stare. He’s staring at the others smile and eyes as they too form crescents out of joy. In ways he’s helplessly lost in Junmyeons eyes as the boy continues to show off his outfit. Happiness oozing off of Junmyeons person in a way that Sehun isn’t capable of.

It’s only a moment later when Junmyeon coughs does he remember the question.

“Y-You look perfect.” Sehuns tone is sincere and only a moment after speaking does he realize his mistake. “I mean your outfit looks perfect.” The situation goes up in flames as Sehun can see this small conversation panning out into a disaster. “I-I mean you do look good.”

Junmyeon smiles and simply shakes his head, offering a cheesy wink. It does nothing to calm Sehun’s stuttering heart though as he can see the tinges of red on the others ears accompanied by the same tone lightly dusting the others cheeks. Junmyeon ducked his head before turning to scratch at his neck, adamantly looking anywhere but at Sehun.

It was so obvious then that the man before him is hiding his nerves and doing his best to not be seen blushing. Of course no alpha would blush over something trivial like an outfit reveal, that’s an omega’s job. At least it is according to society’s standards, something which Kim Junmyeon didn’t seem to fancy.

“Right back at you.” Junmyeon winks again and Sehun hurries to usher the other to the office. The further away Junmyeon is the better his heart has a chance at working properly and not beating so loud that the other would clearly hear it.

Both of them seemingly loosing a battle and yet adamant on fighting. Neither wanting to give in and wave the white flag of surrender or in this case the flag of confession. Though the CEO did already outright tell his feelings, no hesitation and no apprehension. So is the flag waiting to be raised or is it already raised, but a rain of arrows on fire are heading straight for it.

“Sehun?” Junmyeon looks up at him with sparkling eyes full of wonder and the boy in question wants nothing more than to slam his head into the door frame. It’s like having an adorably fluffy white rabbit staring up at you with it’s ears tilting in a questioning manner while it’s eyes sparkle.

Damn the other’s cute! Too cute and almost deadly.

“Choose an apron, wash your hands then come on out. I’ll have you on cookie duty.” Sehun leaves the other without waiting for an answer. There’s no care at the moment if he scares the other or even if he startles the other man.

Sehun beelines for the walk in fridge, closing the door behind him and letting out a shaky breath in the soundproof box. His thoughts already becoming clearer due to the chilly air and thumbprint cookies sitting in the corner, looking like heaven filled with his mothers signature raspberry jam.

“Okay you got this Oh Sehun, don’t be weird and don’t mess things up.” Sehun rubs his hand over his heart as it slows and his brain clears form the earlier overload of cuteness. “Be normal. Be you. Be Oh Sehun.”

After a few more deep breaths Sehun finally leaves the fridge, a basket of cream cheese in hand accompanied by two bowls of pie dough. He sets both on the workbench before hurrying back and grabbing the remaining bowls of sugar cookie dough made the night before.

“Oh so we are making cookies!” Junmyeon appears from the small area where the office resides and has seemingly found an apron to wear. Not just any apron though, it’s Sehun’s spare apron, one that he doesn’t use as often anymore. The piece of cloth with strings got to small and worn to be something used everyday, still if needed it’s also resting on the hook in the office. Like a backup or plan b.

Thankfully his mother, or Ms. Park, has done some TLC on the poor thing and given it a new look to it. Now it’s covered in vary patches of cream and even one with bunnies across it to hold the front pocket in place.

There is something about Junmyeon wearing his apron that sparks joy. It’s in ways indescribable, the words are on the tip of his tongue daring to spill over. In other ways the view before him is like a painting that can be interpreted in a various amount of views and in this one Sehun sees something that radiates home and comfort, arms to fall into when everything goes wrong.

“Yep.” Sehun responds as he watches as the other wash his hands before joining him at the workbench, setting the two bowls down and pushing one towards Junmyeon. “I’ll show you ready.”

Sehun pulls the plastic wrap off of the bowl with an experienced hand and grabs the cookie scoop he had previous grabbed along with an empty plate. He looks over the colors and chooses orange, pouring a decent amount of the colored granulated sugar onto the plate.

“So the dough is pre-made and all that’s left to do is to scoop and make cookies, which is very easy as long as you know what you’re doing.” Sehun grabs a stick of softened butter and brings it over to the table, setting it near the plate covered with colorful sugar. “Have you ever made cookies before?”

“Nope.” Junmyeons voice sounds uncertain, worried almost as he shakes his head to confirm his lack of cookie making knowledge. Sehun can only hope that this day won’t end up with one of them covered head to toe in flour or worse with colorful sugar all over the place. “But you’ll teach me right?”

Those eyes are back and Sehun bites back a scream of frustration.

“Of course.” Sehuns reply is sweet and laced with confidence. It’s a poor attempt at not wanting to scream because of the others adorable pout and Sehun knows it. Combined with that uncertain tone its like staring at an abandoned puppy begging to be brought home. It’s cute as all hell and Sehun wants to let the other know that.

Not now though, but maybe later.

“So after you got all your needed helpers like the butter, sugar of your color choice, the cookies, the cookie sheets, parchment paper, and cookie scoop you are all set.” Sehun quickly lines one pan with parchment before turning to Junmyeon. “Any questions?”

“No, but I feel like I should be taking notes.” Junmyeon laughs and mimics note taking.

“Only if you want to, but I’ll be right here ready to help whenever you need it.” Sehun scoops the first cookie and sets it on the parchment, ignoring the tense silence caused by the implications of his words. “So we will line the cookie sheet with parchment and then using the cookie scoop place six cookies per tray. They cook four minutes each side and get rotated once.”

“So eight minutes cook time in total.” Junmyeon confirms as he lines his own sheet with paper. Copying Sehun by starting to place six dollops of cookie dough on the paper lined sheets. “And then what?”

“You take your glass and softened butter.” Sehun grabs both and hands a spare glass to Junmyeon alongside directing the other to an extra softened stick of butter. “So you take the butter and run it along the base of the glass before dipping it in your sugar of choice, which you didn’t do.” Sehun sets his glass down in his orange sugar and quickly takes Junmyeons glass laying it on the side before moving to get the colored sugar.

“So I have-”

“This one!” Junmyeon reaches out and quickly pulls out a deep navy blue. Sehun can’t remember having the color let alone what they’d use the color for. However, if it’s what Junmyeon wishes to use then he’s not one to say no.

“Okay so we lay out some of it on your own plate.” Sehun shows the other how to do it and lets Junmyeon try it out, to get a feel for how to not over pour. Not like putting too much sugar would be a bad thing, it would just be more of a mess to clean up.

“Now I just take the glass,” Junmyeons words are followed by that action. “Add butter and place the buttered side in the sugar and then,”

“You take your glass with sugar and press them onto the cookie dollops like so.” Sehun demonstrates and watches as Junmyeon copies with no hesitation. “Perfect.”

Junmyeon beams a smile at him before continuing on, making six perfectly sugared blue cookies. Sehun on the other hand wraps up his own colorful cookies and moves onto the next batch.

“So I’ll pop these in the oven and you can get started on the next batch right?”

“Yep!” Junmyeon nods enthusiastically and Sehun hurries to put the cookies in. A rush would happen soon and they need to get these cookies in, out, and cooled before noon.

Thankfully Junmyeon caught on quick and Sehun didn’t have to do much other than generalized cleaning and taking care of the cookies in the oven. He managed to get both cheesecakes made in the meantime as well, a feat that easily impressed Junmyeon.

“You know if you work this well and quickly I might as well hire you at my company.” Junmyeon switches to the orange sugar and places it while humming quietly. “You could help our cafeteria staff figure out what they’re doing wrong.”

Sehun can’t help but smile along with the other boy.

“I would, but I’m needed here and I love it here.” Sehun pulls the next batch of cookies out before moving and setting the third to last one in. “This is my home and not to sound cheesy but anything else is unknown,” He takes a minute, formulating the best way to phrase what he wants to say without sounding crazy. “It’s different.”

Junmyeon nods slowly, understanding crossing his face in a way that speaks louder than words alone. It stays quiet for a moment only the sound of the sugar crunching from the force of being crushed beneath the cup.

“I get that. I really do.”

There’s something in the older boy’s voice that implies a deeper meaning, something more personal. Something more dark and not as kind as everything else in Junmyeons life.

They continue to work in silence as Sehun helps Junmyeon clean up the rest of the cookies. They move on and Junmyeon makes his first cheesecake along with learning how to fill the pie crusts. With all the cookies baked and both the pies and cheese cakes in the oven they move to start pulling the remaining cookies off of the pan.

“So we’ll sell these later?” Junmyeon asks as he finishes up the last pan.

Sehun hums as he counts the trays, they have eight of them with at least twelve cookies on each. So in total they made around ninety-six cookies meaning that they could take three trays out now and still have enough for later.

“Yep. I’m going to run up front really quick to check what needs to be restocked and cleaned. I’ll be sure to bring out some of these cookies.” Sehun knows he counted earlier, but it’s been some time since he last did an inventory check. He starts to walk away before hurrying back realization on his face as he stops Junmyeon from pulling the last cookie off the tray. It’s an oddly colored one that is decorated with both blue and orange sprinkles. The cookie is very much something Junmyeon would make. “This is yours. You made it, you try it.” The excitement in his tone is beyond comprehendible as Junmyeon waves him off cookie crumbling at his touch.

“I will! Now hurry so we can make some of those muffins that you swear by.”

Sehun hurries on out so the other boy doesn’t actually push him out of the back room.

Once outside of the back room though it’s like a whole other world with all the people and traffic. A world outside of baking with Junmyeon.

Thankfully it’s organized and not just a whole bunch of chaos spread about the shop. There’s not that customer in the corner who was breaking the napkin dispenser or the little kid who is dead set on pressing their face to the clean display case glass. Seeing all these people alongside his mothers face filled with joy that makes him feel happy about such a large crowd.

“Hi mom.” He waves quickly before ducking under to check on the display case contents.

“Oh, Sehunnie hello!” Her smile is kind as she finishes serving the current customer. “Would you mind grabbing me a four blueberry muffins and a sugar cookie?”

Sehun moves quick grabbing the needed goods and putting them in their respective boxes before handing them off to the customer with a smile. His mother gives him a thumbs up under the counter, which is their kind of silent thank you.

“No problem.” Sehuns voice is quiet as his mother continues helping out the occasional customers. “If you need help holler.” In a quick manner that shows experience he gathers all the empty trays and dessert tags, setting the latter behind him on the counter before hurrying to the back with the empty trays.

“Alright I’m back.” Sehun places the trays into sink before quickly maneuvering to take two trays up front. “Can you grab the last one and follow me?”

“Sure!” Junmyeon takes the tray layered with orange cookies and leads the way, setting them down where instructed. Sehun ignores all the hushed whispers from customers who maybe know Junmyeon or even those who are surprised to see new desserts hot off the oven.

“So let us go get the cheesecake and pie out of the oven then we can work on those muffins. I have to make blueberry, but do you have another preference?” Sehun steps back into the kitchen and towards the oven, pulling out the aforementioned desserts with practiced ease. “Oh also how was the cookie?”

Junmyeon gives him a thumbs up and hurries back over to where the cookie was.

“It was delicious! Here here I left you some.” The shorter boy hurries over with the remaining cookie in hand holding it out and Sehun takes it gratefully, not bothering to protest or argue that the knows what his own cookies taste like. “Good?”

Sehun offers a thumbs up as to not spit cookie crumbs on the shorter boys face, nodding enthusiastically and licking any crumbs off his lips. An action that draws Junmyeons eyes in a manner that is anything but subtle.

“Also can we make chocolate chip muffins, please?” Junmyeons tone is borderline pleading as he starts walking away and ushering the younger to follow him. Sehun finishes his snack quickly before following after the other. Muffin making and setting out the warm pies on the to do list for later as Junmyeon grabs his hand and takes him with him to sit down for a moment in the office.

A small break and time to relax after the already seemingly long morning, baking different desserts back to back.

For now though, Sehun hurries after Junmyeon, laughter ensuing as he starts chasing the alpha in a rush to get to the office. It’s certainly odd and different than hanging out with Jisung. For one being with Junmyeon feels like there is something more to him and something more to them.

Something made of chances and possibilities.

Something like a what if.

\-- 

“Can we take a photo together?” Junmyeon asks in a quiet manner that barely makes the words audible to Sehun who sits no more than a foot away. Nonetheless Sehun nods and gets ready to pose with Junmyeon, at last minute though the older holds up a business card. Worry bells ring in his head and once the photo is taken he quickly snatches the card out of the others hand. He chooses to ignore the photo altogether.

The card is nothing bad though, nothing is off, and instead the small piece of paper is surprising. He has to wonder for a moment why the worry bells even rang in the first place. Maybe it was his gut finally speaking up and predicting a problematic situation.

“Are these,” Sehun pauses holding up the card as he does his best to formulate his question without sounding rude. “New business cards for this bakery?” His tone remains open and yet apprehensive as he gestures around them while asking, despite still being in slight shock and doing his best to say a sincere thank you.

“Yep I had a mockup made and printed since the one I took last week was a bit dated. I hope you don’t mind, I probably should of asked first.” Junmyeon looks apologetic and Sehun elbows him, flipping the card over as he looks at it in awe.

“Yeah it was dated by twenty years at least.”

“Well I think some people would call it antique.” Junmyeon shrugs and makes the most awkward looking so-what face as he attempts to shrug the odd emotion off his shoulders.

Sehun stops, simply taking a moment to stare at the other while doing his best to not swear at the other or even burst out laughing at the slight jab to his family’s dated business cards. It’s not like any of his family were able to even draw a stick person, let alone compose a single document. Meaning that in short terms an updated business card was out of the question. 

The younger runs his hands over the fancy lettering on the card, reading over the phone number and address he’s had memorized since he was five. There was clearly time and effort put into the design, unspoken effort shown throughout the card in the most minimalistic ways.

“Why did you do it?” The question comes off as genuinely curious and a bit desperate sounding. Sehun wants to know the answer, no he needs to know the answer. Being in debt to a person is not something he wants, nor does he want Junmyeon to pull out the pity card. 

“Well.” Junmyeon sits back against the chair, voice seeming to take a more serious tone as the air around them shifts. It shifts from a comfortable manner to one filled with hesitation. A sense of worry almost. “You’re different.”

The other sighs whilst fiddling with his phone, it’s a sign of nervousness from a man who has not shown it. Not even when there was a high chance of getting electrocuted in the middle of the field.

“I don’t know much about you and that’s the truth. You are Oh Sehun, twenty-three years old and working for your parents day and night. You show compassion and work hard for your family, not wanting to disappoint and bottling everything up. You like Minseoks wonky books.” Junmyeon stops seeming to attempt to piece together his thoughts.

“I can’t figure out how to word it, you don’t see me as something more than a human. You see me as Kim Junmyeon and treat me as such. I’m not royalty and I’m not fragile. You let me learn and discover things on my own. You make me feel like I’m finally living my life. In the few times we’ve met I truly feel like Kim Junmyeon and not the person society or family has built up. I can just-”

Sehun doesn’t let the other finish his words before engulfing him in a hug, nearly causing him to fall off his stool in the process. Junmyeon sounds like he wants to pull out his hair and he’s almost positive that the other would cry any second now. The words spoken by the other are something that he’s longed to hear and unknowingly wanted to hear.

Sehun knows that he lets his actions speak for themselves and knows how selfless he can be at points. Junmyeon is simply a big time CEO tired of the lime light and tired of being someone who they draw up in their own wicked fantasies.

“I’m doing these foolish acts for a reason I can’t name. The day together and even ruining my suit by rolling around in the field with you. A part of me just needs to do them. Needs them to be done for you to be happy…For me to be happy.” Junmyeon’s words are powerful and hold strong implications, some of which Sehun can admit to feeling at points.

The fact that they’ve only met a few times be damned.

The fact that they don’t know much about each other be damned.

There’s time to learn and there’s time for them to get to know each other so well that they will know each others insecurities inside and out. Together they’ll be inseparable.

Sehun rubs the others back and doesn’t want to put off the others mini confession, but he doesn’t feel ready yet. A fact that he already made known to the other yet. Maybe after the art fair or a few other dates as friends they could start to date as boyfriends.

“Well then if you don’t mind helping out and contributing to performing foolish acts. Then can you help me and my family start our business online, or at least form a webpage and possibly social media pages?”

Sehun knows it’s rude to swerve away from the others words, but he’s afraid and dislikes direct confrontation. Junmyeon will surely get his answer, just not right away and not right now.

Not when he doesn’t know enough about the other like what color socks he typically wears or if he prefers Christmas over Halloween. The small tidbits of getting to know each other left blank waiting to be filled in. Like some adult version of Madlibs or Jeopardy. Maybe.

Junmyeon nods, murmuring a yes as they part from the hug, one of his arms still around Sehuns waist in a possessive manner. It breaks the other from his contemplation of America’s most popular game shows and he has time to focus on the hand holding onto him.

Sehun doesn’t move and doesn’t say anything. He likes the feeling and for once moves his head to lean on the other. His worries bygone at this point as he throws caution to the wind. He feels comfortable as Jisungs words ring in his head.

Right now they need each other and instead of throwing the other out, he wants to help and wants to be there for Junmyeon. No he _needs_ to be there.

Together they pass the time like that. Setting up social media accounts and figuring out a website page for the bakery, choosing a beautiful tangerine shade as the background color and a deep orange for text bordered by white. A copy of their logo is taken and added as well after being polished in photoshop.

If any customers come in they take order with a level of teamwork that comes naturally, occasionally handing out the new business cards. It’s impressive how well Junmyeon keeps up with serving the customers and how he can maintain composure around all the people going crazy because it’s Kim Junmyeon.

_The_ Kim Junmyeon.

Sehun pays it no mind and continues to box up the desserts, setting them on the counter and sliding them over to the customer. If Junmyeon seems unnerved by the act of craziness he will simply place his hand over the others and rub his thumb in small circles on the others palm to ease some of the worry.

It’s not intimate, by no means.

It’s an act of reassurance in the simplest form that Sehun can provide.

If time allowed it then they would play two truths and a lie. Allowing Sehun to get to know that Junmyeon had a family dog and that he once ate a cicada off of a tree due to a stupid dare from his friend Baekhyun. Yes, it’s the same Baekhyun who he formed his current company with.

By the time the clock hits seven Sehun can understand why getting help is a good thing. For once he didn’t have to do everything, instead he could focus on other aspects of the bakery and focus on himself.

“So,” Junmyeons voice is lively as ever despite the long day. “What now?”

Sehun smiles walking back after turning the sign to closed, locking the door and dropping the shades. He grabs the broom and dustpan from the storage room before hurrying back out to the front, handing them off to the other.

“We clean!” Sehun furrows his brows as he shouts, holding up the spray bottle into the air while waving his rag around like they’re marching into battle.

“Today marks the first day of the great cleaning war!” Junmyeon voices out in the best stoic voice he can muster, standing proud before starting to sweep diligently seemingly catching onto the joke and deciding to play along. 

Shinees greatest hits accompanies them as they sweep and mop.

Junmyeon belts out the chorus for ring ding dong in a fashion that Sehun could never be possible of. Of course though he helps by following up with the iconic raps. 

Together they work together in tandem to the same beat. It’s like they’re on the same page, same line, and same word. Each following along and not daring to read ahead or go back to confirm what they’ve previously read. They fit together and can simply understand each other with the simplest of glances.

Junmyeon only had to look over with that cheesy grin, doing the dance for the song playing before following up with some Super Junior key dance move. It’s awkward and something that he’s learning about the other. 

Dance breaks can happen. Whenever and wherever.

Two songs may be mashed together, but hey that’s why it’s a KJ original. (A Kim Junmyeon original.)

It’s only after they finish cleaning that Sehun is staring at the remaining sugar cookies, the ones he secretly hid from his mother. The feeling of his heart speeding up and his name being whispered by Junmyeon that has him boxing up the rest of the colorful sugar cookies for the other to take home, tying it all together with a beautiful blue silk bow.

His thoughts run wild as he can hear Junmyeon begin to belt out married to the music.

It’s the spark that seems to start up as he touches the other and the way his omega keens at the smallest touch. His walls seemingly broken down and his heart is breeched by such a wonky alpha and his wayside courting methods.

An alpha who is prone to dance breaks, doesn’t care about getting his suits covered in dirt, loves fruit, lets his actions speak louder than his words, and puts work before himself.

It’s the little things about Junmyeon that have him wondering what would happen if he was to take the other up on his offer. To date an alpha as unique and special as Kim Junmyeon.

Sehun isn’t sure of his thoughts though when the aforementioned alpha comes dancing into the back room and drags him over to start dancing along. Hyping Sehun up as he starts to sing Onew and Minho’s part with the expertise of an overly excited seagull.

Thankfully Junmyeon joins in and together they make one hell of a duo.

-

The two outfits before Sehun are different and yet similar at the same time. Maybe it’s the initial impression they give off that varies. Well that and possibly the fact the amount of skin being covered is different as well. One outfit would completely hide his farmers tan and the other would have it on show for everyone, including Kim Junmyeon.

Hell he wouldn’t even have the problem of a farmers tan if he did the laundry and if he didn’t fall asleep under the trees yesterday.

“Hold on.” Sehun says to no one but himself as he goes back to his phone and once again searches up what people commonly wear to art fairs. He also double checks to make sure that the date Junmyeon texted him is surely today.

The answer he gets from his clothes search is still formal wear, and honestly he doesn’t doubt that for a minute. However, he doesn’t own a suit and sure as hell doubts the small art fair one town over is going to be completely formal. Let alone indoors like all of these art fairs show online. 

After all the town is just another small town like his, how many rich people are willing to hike to the backwoods for some no name piece of art. Well, except for Kim Junmyeon who is about as rich as they get and yet here he is hiking to the countryside for said piece of art. Or as the other called it in passing, ‘getting away from things’.

The meaning of that saying lost as Junmyeon dodged the question and quickly diverted their discussion. The other could be getting away from stuff back in the big city or simply getting away from things at home, either would be acceptable and fit into what Sehun already knows about Junmyeon.

In a way Sehun kind of wishes he could get away from this event.

The thought of a distraught Junmyeon upset at his lack of appearance has his tugging at his hair and fidgeting, hoping from one foot to the other. Simply imagining the pout on the other has him wanting to scream out in frustration and indecision. 

Sehun sighs, tossing his phone to the bed after looking at the search results for another moment. Indecision still at the forefront of his mind accompanied by the incessant thought of disappointing Junmyeon.

“What am I doing with my life?” The question is muttered as Sehun contemplates telling the other that he isn’t able to go anymore. He’d pull out a cliché excuse like his fish died or he was called into work. To do that though he’d have to have a fish and parents who would actually want him to work.

And no his mom does not know about his plans yet. Though he has a good feeling she’ll find out about them soon. If not directly then the universe would probably give her a sign and she’ll go all detective on him.

Its not really right of him to keep her in the dark when she’ll be stuck in the bakery all day long, but Junmyeon said not to worry about it and that he has a plan. Which is worrisome, but it’s Junmyeon and he honestly does trust the other.

Not like he really has a choice this time around. The worst that could happen is his mother forbidding him to go out, but he’s twenty-three and it’s the perfect time to start the rebellious teen phase. Better late than never.

Sehun shakes his head and slaps his cheeks lightly, focusing again on the two outfits before him.

The first one was definitely more casual, with light blue ripped skinny jeans and a large white tee. Maybe he’d pair it with a pair of black sneakers and some bracelets to look more _high-class_. It’s hot though and jeans might be overkill in the sunny outdoors.

The second outfit consists of a long sleeve gray button down with a pair of slightly distressed dark gray shorts. For this outfit he’d pair it with his best pair of white sneakers and might as well tack on a pair of fake glasses to look more sophisticated. It is an art fair after all.

One outfit was casual and the other was a bit more than casual, almost like it was borderline formal. Then again the weather was supposed to be quite warm today according to the news. Like the last bit of summer despite it already being September.

“Sehun?”

Sehun spins around at his mother’s voice and doesn’t even bother trying to hide the two outfits spread across his bed. 

“Mom!” His tone is laced with slight panic and he knows that it’s useless to ask why she didn’t knock. In his family there are little to no secrets and anyone that does have a secret will eventually come clean about it. Most of the times. There still is the ever present closeted secret. 

“What?” His mother places a hand on her side in the most common mom pose while throwing the other hand up in a confused manner. A smirk practically growing on her face as if she already knows the answer to her question.

“Can you please knock?”

Sehun regrets the words as soon as they’re out of his mouth, especially since the way he phrased it sounded defensive and rigid.

Thankfully his mom doesn’t say anything nor does she walk right back out the door. Instead she shakes her head and rolls her eyes, moving to sit down on his bed next to the two outfits.

“I like this one, the gray button down looked good when you tried it on years ago and it’s a shame you still haven’t worn it.” His mother holds up the outfit, giving it a once over before handing it over.

“Go get changed.” Her tone is gentle, almost as if she knows something he doesn’t. “You don’t want to keep Junmyeon waiting do you?”

Sehun opens his mouth to retort back to her statement as questions fill his head. Most importantly how his mother knew he was meeting Junmyeon. However, he knows arguing with her is the last thing he wants to do so he stays quiet and takes the clothes from her hands.

“When you’re finished getting dressed call me and I’ll fix your hair for you.”

Sehun leaves and does as told, getting dressed and quickly doing a full check of his outfit. For once he was super invested in his outfit and how it looked on him. From what he could see in the bathroom mirror the shirt wasn’t tight fitting nor was it baggy. If he really pulled the sleeves down then he’d surely have sweater paws. Thankfully the shirt wasn’t long enough to cover his shorts, instead the top piece only stopped a few inches past his waist. The shorts weren’t short either, but they weren’t capris.

Overall the outfit fit together well. The YouTube video he watched an hour prior, to get some inside expertise on how to dress decently, really having come in handy. If it hadn’t then Jisung would have been called and the other surely would have helped him put together something. Knowing Jisung he would have probably made something that would make him look like your resident gangster who helps out at the kindergarten on the weekdays.

Thankfully the video helped and his mom helped him choose between the two outfits he had put together. He didn’t have to see if Junmyeon was attracted to bakers who are also a part time gangster and help out at the local school. He really doesn’t need that information, let alone trying to figure out what to do with that information.

Sehun shakes his head realizing that he’s deviating off the topic of his outfit.

When he looks back in the mirror he thinks about how the outfit chosen really didn’t different than most of his other farm work outfits, maybe it’s one step up in terms of fanciness. A spin and view from a different angle don’t change his opinion and he just sighs.

Either way he hopes that he’s dressed good enough for the art fair, if it comes down to it he will just pull out the useless art knowledge he and Jisung practiced the other day. Both of them acting like the art critiques found online and in those expensive art auctions. There was a ton of diamonds and champagne in the videos and Sehun doubts that the town over will hold the same standards as the one seen in the videos but nonetheless the knowledge can’t hurt.

He can’t be sure though, if his outfit is enough or if his knowledge would be enough.

A part of Sehun knows that Junmyeon likes him for more than just his appearances and his knowledge of art, or the lack of. For once confidence flows through him in ways that it never has before.

Sehun understands that someone appreciates him in a way that transcends outward appearances and his lack of knowledge. It causes butterflies to flutter abound in his stomach and he can’t help the blush that taints his cheeks.

“You got this.” Sehun rubs his cheeks as he continues to mutter words of encouragement as it fails to settle his nervous stomach.

Standing before the mirror he catches his eyes and can practically imagine the shorter alpha behind him, standing on his tip toes to rest his head on Sehuns shoulder. Seeing Junmyeon in the mirror due to his imagination has him wondering how he’d look in a suit, how well they’d look together donned in the finest suits. Maybe made by Junmyeons company, the occasion could be a fancy night out or even their wedding.

Isn’t a lack suit and bowtie too cliché for a wedding though? Maybe they should stick to-

“Whoa!” Sehun practically shouts as his brain starts to break through the barriers he’s set, his inner omega loving the thought of companionship and taking full control of his inner mind.

He lets out a sigh that sounds tired, but holds more meaning than weight to it. He wonders for a moment if Junmyeon would even stay that long enough for them to reach the marriage point in their relationship. Hell not even Junmyeon, but anyone.

Sehun looks down at his ring finger, bare and imagines a simple silver band over it. The small ring of metal looks out of place and he watches as it disappears.

After all who would want a broken omega.

The thought is beyond scary, from the aspect of commitment to the fact that they might not even last that long together.

However, it’s not a day for sad thoughts and today is after all just an outing between friends. Not a date between two curious people who are thinking that the other may be the one and surely not a date between two lovers.

It’s just him and Junmyeon.

That’s all there is to it and nothing more.

Unless, there is something more and it can’t be contained within his Pandoras box of thoughts. 

Sehun shakes the pointless thoughts off, brushing off a few pieces of lint and some imaginary dust. He’s most likely wasted the time he set aside to get ready staring off into his reflection wondering and overthinking.

“Sehun! Your phones going off!” His mother tone is laced with joy and unlined with excitement. He knows how excited she is and he knows that she already approves of the boy. Even if she’s only heard his name through whispers or seen him in passing in the shop the other day. Her small mannerisms and slow approach about the other is just a hint to how curious she is.

Sehun still hasn’t told her how he came about the business cards. He’s torn between saying he found a guy to make them or saying that he made them himself through the use of an online tutorial. Of course he could tell the truth, but then he’s sure his mother would already be booking a wedding venue for them.

The woman in question calls out to him again. His brain finally catches up everything including his mother’s words and his nerves start up again. Covering his body in a shaking feely that lights his body alive with excitement and goose-bumps. Nervous and yet full of anticipation he knows that his inner omega deep within is shivering out of a combination of both emotions.

His eyes meet his reflection as he stares at himself once more the mirror.

Steel grey eyes look at him, full of uncertainty caused by pointless worries.

It’s not who he wants to be when he meets Junmyeon. That much he’s sure of. The last thing he wants to do is throw all his never-ending worries onto the other man, even if he’s the cause of half of them.

“Breathe in,” Sehun follows his words, hands mimicking his actions as he inhales a good amount of air before slowing breathing out. “Breathe out.” His body relaxes, hands moving to his side slowly as can feel his mind settle into ease. Repeating the action he takes a few more deep breaths before walking back to his room, brush in hand along with the blow dryer.

“I know I heard you, I’m back.” His tone is sarcastic hiding the stress that starts up when he sees all the missed calls from both Taeyong and Junmyeon.

“Are you still good on time?” His mother speaks as he tugs him back onto the bed, plugging in the blow dryer to an extension cord that she must have gotten from the spare closet down the hall.

“Yep. He said he’ll be here in twenty minutes.” Sehun relaxes as he feels her fingers thread through his hair. By no means are her hands soft, instead they have callouses alongside scars on them as evidence of her hard work.

All for her dream.

“You know I met your father back in college.” She lets out a laugh as if recalling something hilarious. “He fell down a flight of stairs on his bike running after the teacher. I don’t recall what for, but it was a sight to see a boy fall down a flight of stairs and practically land at your feet. In some aspect you could say he fell for me because when he looked up it was like the world slowed down and it was just us. He was bruised and had the beginnings of a black eye, but in that moment something felt right.

I hurried to help him up and well the rest was set in stone, we went on dates. Our favorite being picnics out in the meadow, leaving the world behind and focusing on just us.” His mother turns off the blow dryer, setting it aside and he can feel the brush begin to run through his hair.

“Of course not everything in a relationship is perfect. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows. There are hardships and fights, disagreements and points in which you don’t see eye to eye. In the end though it’s worth it. Coming home to see them makes everything okay.”

“So did you dad and share the same dream?” Sehun asks as he feels the brush be replaced by a comb which moves through his hair in slow ministrations.

“Not at first, but a few years before you were born we figured our life goals out and how to mesh them together in a way that worked back then. He wanted to escape reality after not being the businessman and I wanted to do something more than working a nine to five job at a desk. We wanted to run away and forget our worries, even if it was just for a moment.

Not long after we found the bakery, abandoned since it’s previous passed away. We gave it some love and time allowing it become what is now a days, while growing our own fruit.

I can remember when he broke ground out in the orchards planting those first trees and watching them grow, hoping they’ll survive the harsh storms and waiting for the fruit in the spring.

I can remember your father standing beside me through it all even when you became part of the picture. We walk together and understand each other in a way that science can’t explain.

I hope you find the same thing.

A person who loves you and understands you…A person who respects you.” Her tone is shaky and Sehun bites back the tears, knowing the impact of her words.

Words won’t due justice to his mother’s advice and so he hugs her, no hesitation. It takes a moment and a small giggle before his mother returns the embrace. He knows she’s doing her best to put her emotions on show, instead burying them so he doesn’t get affected by the atmosphere as well.

“Go wow his socks off and if he messes with you, let me know I’ll know some sense into him.” She smiles through her words and Sehun nods, knowing very well that if he was to speak then he’d surely break down.

Not that any of them need more tears at the moment, be them happy or sad.

A car honks outside and Sehun pulls away, hurrying over to the window to sure enough see Taeyong standing outside the same black car he’s seen before. 

“Do I look good?” He does spin and places his glasses on, striking a cheesy pose in a weak attempt to lighten the mood.

She offers a thumbs up and the car honks again.

Sehun places a kiss on her cheek grabs his phone and socks before hurrying downstairs. He sets his stuff down by the door and places his shoes on.

Taking one last look inside he can see how his mother lives true to her story. He can see the hard work thrown in from both his parents to maintain their house and give him a good childhood. He can see the memories his mother describe to him play out like an old time record.

“Here goes nothing.”

Sehun hurries out the door, closing it behind him as he runs to Junmyeon in the car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So where to begin.  
> Well lets start off with sorry for the delay, life been beyond busy. However, this is a long chapter so I hope that makes up for it. Feedback, both good and bad is welcome, let me know what you thought. Is the chapter too long or the scenes too dragged out, let me know. Is the information all over the place? (I am going to make an attempt to respond to comments this time.)
> 
> NCT will be apart of this story as background characters, just thought I'd let you know. 
> 
> (Also did you catch the small easter egg in the phone numbers? Also also the sugar cookie hack does work.)
> 
> I can't think of anything else...  
> So...  
> Thanks for reading, see you next time!  
> :)  
> \- Awkwarddragons


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